MINUTI	34
POENI	26
SKOKOVI	7
ASISTENCIJE	5
ŠUT	11-21 | 52.4%
TROJKA	2-7 | 28.6%
SLOBODNA BACANJA	2-2 | 100%
BLOKADE	0
OSVOJENE LOPTE	0
IZGUBLJENE LOPTE	4

Nikola has made a habit of bailing the Denver Nuggets out of bad situations.

His teammates returned the favor.

Paul Millsap hit a left-handed layup with 7 seconds remaining after Jokic was ejected late in the fourth quarter for arguing and the Nuggets moved to the verge of their first playoff spot since 2012-13 with a 102-100 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.

The magic number for the Nuggets dropped to one as they remained in the No. 2 spot behind Golden State. Denver ran its home record to a Western Conference-leading 30-6.

The Nuggets were up 96-89 with 2:56 remaining when Jokic was called for a foul while jostling with Myles Turner. Jokic was incensed at the call and kept barking at official Tony Brothers, who tossed Jokic. Indiana later tied the game at 100, before Millsap hit the winner over Turner. Bojan Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer bounced off the rim in the final seconds.

„We won,“ said Jokic, who had a team-high 26 points. „That’s the most important thing.“

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

The Nuggets have missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons by a spot. This season, they’ve left nothing to chance.

„We’ve seen what we’re capable of and we’re going to hold ourselves to the highest standard possible,“ Malone said.

TECHNICAL FOUL

Asked if he deserved to be ejected, Jokic simply responded, „Yes.“

Asked if he’s working on keeping his emotions in check, Jokic elaborated a little more.

„It’s extremely hard because it’s not equal for everybody,“ Jokic said.

ESPN