HOF coach takes aim at Nuggets after Nikola Jokic and Co. play heavy minutes to beat Ben Simmons-less Nets
Hall of Fame coach and former Denver Nuggets tactician George Karl took a shot at the substantial minutes logged by Nikola Jokic and the team against the Brooklyn Nets. Following an overtime win against Toronto, Denver faced Brooklyn on Tuesday, where they secured a 144-139 win in another overtime showdown.
While the Nuggets were favored to win the game, Karl found it odd that Jokic and the rest of Denver's starters had to play big minutes to beat a depleted Nets team, which had five players, including Ben Simmons, Bojan Bogdanovic and Day'Ron Sharpe, out.
All of Denver's starters put in at least 33 minutes each. Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. played over 40 minutes, while Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun logged 36, 44 and 38 minutes, respectively.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), George Karl shared his thoughts on the Nuggets' minutes situation:
"At this rate all the Nuggets starters will have logged 2K minutes and qualified for end of season awards by Christmas!"
In their previous game against Toronto, four Nuggets starters played at least 40 minutes, led by Jokic who logged 44, and Aaron Gordon with 42. Michael Porter Jr. played 39 minutes, the least among Denver's starting group.
Nuggets vs Nets recap: Nikola Jokic notches huge triple-double in nailbiter
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets secured a victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, though it was far from an easy win. The Nuggets took the win in overtime by a slim five-point margin.
The Nuggets, who won their second straight, have Jokic to thank for their victory. The "Joker" notched a triple-double of 29 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists.
Helping Jokic on the offensive end were Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Russell Westbrook. Murray and Gordon each put up 24 points, while Westbrook had 22 points, a season-high.
Two other Denver players reached double-digit scoring figures: Michael Porter Jr. (16 points) and Christian Braun (12 points).
Keeping the Denver Nuggets on edge were Cam Thomas and Dennis Schroder. The two have stood out for Brooklyn this season, with Schroder delivering a huge double-double of 28 points and 14 assists, and Thomas scoring 26 points.
Five other Nets players contributed solid efforts in hopes of an upset: Cameron Johnson (20 points), Ziaire Williams (18 points), Dorian Finney-Smith (17 points), Nic Claxton (16 points) and Jalen Wilson (11 points).