Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets swept the Lakers on Monday and are advancing to the first NBA Finals in franchise history. Jokic was named the Western Conference Finals MVP (now known as the Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson award) after averaging 27 points, 14.7 rebounds and 11.3 assists per game.
Here’s a little playoff trivia story for you via CBS Sports Research:
- Jokic finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists on Monday. This is the eighth triple-double of those playoff appearances, an NBA record for a single season, and still has one streak remaining.
- Jokic is now averaging 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 10.3 assists in these playoffs. He is the first player in history to average a triple-double in the first 15 games of a postseason. Jokic will become the first in 16 games to average a triple-double until he has at least six assists in Game 1.
- Jokic averaged 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 11.7 assists against the Lakers, making him the first player in history to average a triple triple in best-of-7 sweeps.
- Jokic, who averaged 34.5 points, 13.2 rebounds and 10.3 assists in the second round against the Suns, now owns two of the top five scoring averages.
|
Player |
(triple-double) ppg |
year |
|
Russell Westbrook |
37.4 |
2017 |
|
Nikola Jokic |
34.5 |
2023 |
|
LeBron James |
33.6 |
2017 |
|
Wilt Chamberlain |
28.0 |
In 1967 |
|
Nikola Jokic |
27.8 |
2023 |
Here’s a good nugget, too: Jamal Murray finished with a 52.7/40.5/95.0 shooting split against the Lakers. It’s the first time in history that a player has hit 50-40-90 in a best-of-7 series sweep.
It’s hard to beat the Nuggets with a Jokic-Murray duo operating at this historic level. Only one more team will have a chance to take down Denver. That’s probably the case with the Miami Heat, who swept the Celtics in Game 4 on Tuesday.