Jokic cuts Willy off the hook

What seemed like a chimera that nobody was betting on, that Nikola Jokic win a third MVP in a row, something that no one has done since Larry Bird in 1986 (and that only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell have achieved besides him), begins to seem every most real day The Serb returned after two games away from him due to thigh discomfort, saying that it might take him a few days to feel both legs at the same level. Anyone watching the game against the New Orleans Pelicans wouldn’t even notice. Jokic was once again the one with the great occasions, the one who makes everything spin around him, the one who makes everything work like clockwork and the one who makes his team win in decisive moments. The one he has us used to being.

He was the great architect of the Denver Nuggets being 16 points up. It was also he who left the rival starting center, Jonas Valanciunas, out of the game based on fouls, who, given the already recurring absences of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, is even more important if possible. And it was also he who scored the decisive basket 16 seconds from the end. The play was for Jamal Murray, who every day remembers more of the player he was (25 points today), but the point guard took advantage of being played two against one to find his center released in a mid-range shot that Jokic dominates the perfection. And, of course, the ball entered. The Pelicans had up to three options to win the game, two of them by CJ McCollum who had 20 points but with 0/8 in triples, including the last shot.

For those from New Orleans it represents the fifth defeat in a row, they are increasingly fourth and less third in the West (the wonderful Kings are escaping them) and they have just found out that they will be at least another two weeks without Zion. When nothing ago they were fighting for the leadership of the conference. But this is how this West is, which does not let you sit down to rest for a moment. In fact the Clippers, with all the flaws they’ve shown so far, are already one win away. They need to wake up, as José Alvarado, one of the fashionable names in Louisiana for a long time, made them wake up. The point guard made 14 of his 17 points in the last 13 minutes and linked several baskets in the closing stages, when his team had lost the match (88-97) but turned it around with an incredible 10-run. 0. The man in charge of putting his team ahead, for the first time in the entire second half, half a minute from the end with two free throws was Willy Hernangómez. The Spaniard played a lot and well. He took advantage of Valanciuna’s foul trouble and this time was his coach’s favorite to come off the bench ahead of Larry Nance, who has been eating his toast for most of the season. In fact, Willy was, only behind Alvarado, the substitute who was on the court the most: 23 minutes in which he scored 12 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, gave 2 assists and stole 1 ball. And he was left alone for a moment under the basket on the final play, but Herb Jones didn’t see him as he grounded out and ended up giving the ball to McCollum in the corner.

But in the end, with everything, with the good work of Willy, the outburst of Alvarado, the resilience of the Pelicans, in the end who rules in the NBA Nikola Jokic, who is a double MVP for something. For now…