Nikola Jokic goes down with a knee injury (0:41)Nikola Jokic goes down hard and limps off to the Nuggets’ locker room at the end of the first half vs. the Heat. (0:41)
MIAMI — Nikola Jokic is going to miss only a few weeks, which is surely cause for the Denver Nuggets to take a giant sigh of relief.
The Nuggets’ superstar center has been diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee, the team said Tuesday, adding that the three-time MVP will be reevaluated in four weeks.
Jokic entered Tuesday ranked fifth in the NBA in scoring this season at 29.6 points per game, plus leads the league with averages of 12.2 rebounds and 11 assists per contest. The only other player in NBA history to average at least 12 rebounds and 11 assists over a full season was Oscar Robertson for the Cincinnati Royals in 1961-62.
“Obviously, it’s part of the game,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said Monday night after the game — speaking before the team got the word on the severity of Jokic’s injury. “But we never want to see it happen. … Next man up. We’ve got to focus on what’s in here.”
Denver has five games left on a seven-game road trip, one that resumes Wednesday when the Nuggets visit the Toronto Raptors.
Jokic collapsed to the court, grabbing at the knee. He was helped to his feet, then made his way to the locker room under his own power but with a pronounced limp.
Denver has been playing without three would-be starters in Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cam Johnson. Even after dropping four of their past six games the Nuggets are still currently No. 3 in the Western Conference at 22-10, with Jokic having played in all 32 of those games.
“You just have to stay with it as a team and as a group,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said Monday night. “And honestly, you have to stay with it as a team and a group because that’s how you best support your teammates that are out — by honoring them when you play. So, we’ll move on from there. This is part of the NBA.”
The injury interrupts what might be Jokic’s best season of his career. Not only is he leading the league in rebounds and assists, but he’s shooting a career-best 43.5% from 3-point range and tops the NBA with a true shooting percentage — a formula that accounts for 3-pointers and free throws — of just over 71%.
“It’s like a quest for efficiency and consistency, and I think that’s whether he admits it or not, he sees it as a craft,” Adelman said before Monday’s game, a couple of hours before the injury happened. “He’s trying to look at it as something, ‘What can I get better over the year at?’ And I think it’s been really impressive to watch him over these years, not be satisfied with it, and attack new journeys.”
Nikola Jokic goes down with a knee injury (0:41)Nikola Jokic goes down hard and limps off to the Nuggets’ locker room at the end of the first half vs. the Heat. (0:41)
Nikola Jokic goes down hard and limps off to the Nuggets’ locker room at the end of the first half vs. the Heat. (0:41)