Trying to slow down a three-time NBA MVP can be a head-scratching task that leaves even the best coaches pulling their hair out and opting to utilize outside-the-box strategies.
That's what the Tyronn Lue-led Clippers attempted to do with Nuggets star Nikola Jokić during Denver‘s eventual 130-116 win over Los Angeles on Wednesday night. The Clippers‘s gameplan? Let Jokić score.
Let's just say the plan backfired spectacularly, as Jokic tied the highest scoring performance in the NBA this season in a 55-point outburst.
Ty Lue on Jokic's big night:
"Our gameplan was to make him score and just take away his passing...I didn't think he would score 55" pic.twitter.com/Xo5UbzXGTn
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) November 13, 2025
"Yeah, we wanted to trap,” Lue said after the game. "Tried to double, once he got going. Our game plan was to make him score, just take away his passing, take everybody else out the game. I thought the first half, we did a good job with that. We knew Jamal Murray would be more aggressive in the second half. But I didn’t think he would score 55."
The Clippers also threw the proverbial kitchen sink at Jokić defensively, showing him several different looks and schemes in an effort to slow down the Serbian big man.
"They went through a lot of defensive schemes," Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon said. "None of them worked. I mean, he was cooking tonight. So I mean, you tip your cap."
And while it might seem hard to believe, there may have actually been some historical incentive for Nuggets opponents to let Jokić score.
Before Wednesday‘s Nuggets win, Denver had been 0-4 in the previous games where Jokić had scored 50 points or more. When informed of that fact, Gordon joked that he was going to "give him some stuff."
Jokić himself was relieved to finally emerge with the win in the aftermath of lighting up the scoreboard.
"I think I scored like a bunch—not a bunch, but like a couple times, more than 50—we lost every time," Jokić said. "This is the first time I scored 50 and we won. So it’s a good feeling."
Jokić is on a tear lately, as he's the first player in league history to average a 35-point triple-double while shooting 60% or better from the field during a six-game stretch, a period in which Denver has gone undefeated.
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