On a historic night in which he was serenaded with „MVP!“ chants for his eye-popping triple-double, Nikola Jokic‘s thoughts were with the Denver Nuggets’ injured tone-setter.

„We’re going to miss Barton — a lot,“ Jokic said. „Not just on the court, just vocally. He’s a guy who can speak with everybody, with the coach, he can say whatever. He doesn’t have that `hair on the tongue’ is how we call it in Serbia.

Jokic, who had 11 assists and 12 rebounds, joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to post a triple-double with 30 or more points without missing a field goal. Chamberlain did it twice, in 1966 and `67.

„He had one of those nights tonight,“ Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. „He missed one shot tonight, from the foul line. And anytime you’re mentioned in company with Wilt Chamberlain, you’re doing something right.“

Jokic made all 11 of his shots from the floor and missed just one of 11 free throws on a night the crowd serenaded him with chants of „MVP! MVP!“

„Individually and collectively we got spanked in every aspect of the game,“ Suns coach Igor Kokoskov said. „Jokic had a monster game.“

Jokic also had four steals, zero turnovers and a blocked shot.

„It was a perfect night for him,“ Jamal Murray said. „He hit every shot today, no turnovers, triple-double. So, it couldn’t get any better.“

Millsap said Jokic’s play was inspiring on both ends of the court.

„It’s great. We all eat off him. He feeds us all (when) the offense is clicking,“ Millsap said. „But most importantly, the job he did on the defensive end was important for us.“

35/12/11– Prvi u sezoni, u drugoj utakmici. NBA izveštaj:

Jokic was nearly perfect.

The 7-foot, 250-pound Serbian went 11-for-11 from the field, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range, and sank all but one of his one his 11 free-throw attempts. He also added three steals and a block in 31 minutes to help his team move to 2-0 on the season, prompting the crowd to chant M-V-P while he was at the free-throw line late in the game, but he isn’t letting it go to his head at all.

“I was just waiting for them to stop,” Jokic said. “Thanks Denver. Thank you. It’s early and I think it’s funny.”

Jokic’s 35-point triple-double on perfect shooting from the floor was just the second in NBA history. The other one was recorded by Wilt Chamberlain. Jokic became just the second Nugget to record a triple-double in in the first two games of the season, joining Fat Lever.

“I was thinking I was going to score like 40,” Jokic joked, following the game. “I never do that. The game just opened up like that. “I think I scored a lot in the first quarter and just continued to be aggressive.”

Procenat šuta 100% iz najvećeg broja pokušaja, 11 od 11.

ESPN | STATMUSE