Nikola Jokic spotted chilling at the bar after tormenting Thunder with mind-boggling double-double
On Monday night, Nikola Jokic put together a masterclass performance in Game 1 against the OKC Thunder. Following his dominant outing, the three-time MVP was spotted indulging in some celebrating.
Jokic has a storied history of being the life of the party, but it's typically in the offseason. That was not the case recently, as one fan caught a video of the superstar big man at a bar following Game 1. In the clip, Jokic appears to be catching up with friends after Denver was able to steal a victory on the road.
Aaron Gordon came up big in the clutch for the Nuggets, but Nikola Jokic was the driving force in Denver's victory. He posted a dominant stat line, ending the night with 42 points, 22 rebounds and six assists.
Coming off this nail-biting victory, Jokic and the Nuggets have stolen homecourt advantage from the Thunder as they attempt to reach the conference finals.
Nikola Jokic speaks on big scoring outburst in Game 1 vs. OKC Thunder
While Nikola Jokic is capable of putting up big scoring numbers, he's typically at his best when he's picking his spots and getting everyone involved. However, he asserted himself in a big way in Game 1, and it paid huge dividends. Along with picking up a win on the road, Denver has set the tone against a competitive Thunder team.
During his postgame interview, Jokic touched on his 40/20 performance in an intense playoff matchup. He stated that the team has urged him to be aggressive, and his focus is on doing whatever is needed to put the Nuggets in a position to win games.
"Team wants me to be aggressive and I'm just trying to help the team win the game," Jokic said.
Performances like this are a testament to what a special talent Nikola Jokic is. Even against a jumbo-sized Thunder lineup, he was able to notch 40+ points en route to a victory.
Looking ahead to the rest of this series, the Nuggets need to keep imploring Jokic to be aggressive. When he is asserting himself as a scorer, it forces defenses to make a tough decision. They can either play him straight up or send help. If defenses decide to collapse on him, it opens up more passing lanes for Jokic to exploit with his elite-level playmaking.
Jokic and company have a brief break to catch their breath before taking the floor in OKC again for Game 2.
