"I never passed Big Honey"- Shaquille O'Neal has a cheeky response to Nikola Jokic who becomes center with most triple-doubles
Shaquille O'Neal and Nikola Jokic engaged in hilarious banter as the latter did a walk-off interview with the Inside The NBA crew. Jokic recorded his fourth triple-double of the 2023 playoffs on Tuesday, tallying 29 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists.
The Denver Nuggets smoked the Phoenix Suns 118-102 behind the two-time MVPs efforts, taking a commanding 3-2 series lead. Jokic broke another record after his stellar showing by passing Wilt Chamberlain for the most triple-doubles by a center in the playoffs. Jokic has 10 playoff triple-doubles, while Chamberlain had 9.
O'Neal and the Inside guys congratulated Jokic for this remarkable achievement when the two big men engaged in a rib-tickling back-and-forth. Jokic mocked O'Neal, purposely asking if he was on that list with him and Chamberlain, saying (via James Burnes on Twitter):
"Where is Shaq in that list? Is Shaq in that list?"
Shaq replied by giving Jokic a new nickname.
"No, cause' I never passed, Big Honey," replied Shaq.
Jokic jokes https://t.co/JAckeNcpVf
Nikola Jokic was well-aware that Shaquille O'Neal wasn't much of a passer, at least not consistent as him. O'Neal was a traditional big during his playing days, focused mainly on scoring, rebounding and swatting shots at a high clip.
Jokic has become the NBA's newest triple-double machine. He nearly became the third player after Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook to record a triple-double season, averaging 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game.
Jokic led the league with 29 triple-doubles, 15 more than Domantas Sabonis, who was second on the list. He joined an exclusive club earlier this season by becoming only the sixth player in NBA history to record 100 or more triple-doubles. Jokic is sixth on that list with 105.
Russell Westbrook, Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Jason Kidd are the other players to achieve the feat.
Nikola Jokic becomes the 4th player in Playoff history to record 4 triple-doubles in the first 10 games of a postseason, joining:
Wilt Chamberlain (6 in 1967)
Magic Johnson (4 in 1980 and 5 in 1982)
Oscar Robertson (4 in 1963) https://t.co/rl4oAXSt32
Nikola Jokic and Denver Nuggets one win away from conference finals appearance
Nikola Jokic is just one win away from making his second career conference finals appearance. The Denver Nuggets are up 3-2 against the Western Conference favorites Phoenix Suns in the conference semis. Denver blew a 2-0 advantage by dropping consecutive games on the road.
However, they seemed to have figured out the Suns' schemes that proved effective in Games 3 and 4. Michael Porter Jr. and Bruce Brown rediscovering their rhythm offensively also proved crucial in the Nuggets' blowout Game 5 win.
Brown tallied 25 points off the bench on 7-of-11 shooting. He connected on 9-of-10 free throws. Porter broke out of his slump, making 7-of-11 shots, including 5-of-8 from deep, scoring 19 points.
The Denver Nuggets tightened their defensive coverage on Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, limiting them to 41.7 and 42.1% shooting, respectively. The Nuggets also limited the Suns' role players from impacting the game, which was crucial to their win. Phoenix rode behind the efforts of their supporting cast to win Game 4.
Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets continue to prove their doubters wrong about the prospects of making the finals this year. They have shown the quality of a top seed in these playoffs, and their chances look good to win the West.