The bank was open late last night in the Bay Area.
The Nuggets and Warriors appeared destined for overtime Thursday night. Denver battled back from a 13-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to tie the contest late, and with just seconds remaining on the clock, it seemed improbable that the Nuggets would take the game in regulation.
However, Nikola Jokic pulled out his latest weapon in his bag of tricks — the long-range bank shot.
The Nuggets star took an in-bounds pass from Aaron Gordon with three seconds left in the fourth quarter, dribbled it up into Warriors’ territory and heaved a 39-foot jump shot that clanged off the glass and right into the basket as time expired, lifting the defending NBA champs to a 130-127 win.
THE JOKER CALLS GAME 🤯🃏 pic.twitter.com/zZtonXM6MC
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 5, 2024
As is custom with NBA on TNT games, the star of the contest joined the crew of Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith for a postgame interview. Barkley asked Jokic if he called “glass on that?”
MORE: How Nikola Jokic ‘knew’ buzzer-beating bank shot was going in vs. Warriors
The Serbian forward gave the most Jokic answer possible.
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 5, 2024
“My friend, it went in,” Jokic said with a laugh. “I’m happy.”
Jokic gave a more detailed answer about the shot later on, discussing how “easy” of a decision that shot was, while also admitting that he “knew” he was going to bank it in.
“I just took a shot. I think those shots are the easiest shots to take. You don’t have any other options,” Jokic said. “So actually, when I felt it, I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to bank this.’ You can see the flight of the ball, and I just knew I was going to bank it.”
According to ESPN, Jokic was not the No. 1 option on the play. In fact, Jamal Murray was supposed to get the ball from the sidelines, but he wasn’t open for Gordon. The next read was to get Kentavious Caldwell-Pope the ball from Jokic, but that didn’t work either.
It left Jokic, a player who averages 1.1 3-pointers made per game, with the ball in his hands as the final seconds ticked away, and the 2023 NBA Finals MVP came through in the clutch yet again.
MORE: Why Jokic is considered NBA’s best player
“I wish I could tell you [that’s how I drew it up],” Nuggets head coach Mike Malone said. “But that’s just a great player making a great play. Nikola lives for those moments. And it’s great and joyful to watch a player of his talent go out there and make the plays that he makes.”
Nikola Jokic stats in win over Nuggets
While Jokic was back to his typical laid back self off the court, he continued to be a monster on it. The two-time MVP had a game-high 34 points, missing just four shots in the game as he was 13-of-16 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. He added nine rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and a block in 38 minutes.
With the win, the Nuggets improved to 25-11, maintaining its spot of third place in the Western Conference.
Jokic will undoubtedly be called upon again late in a game to lift the team to a victory — but there likely won’t be many more incidents of the forward launching a deep ball from the sidelines.
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