The Miami Heat routed the Denver Nuggets 147-123 Monday night, a game that was tied 63-63 at halftime before Miami pulled away in the second half. Denver’s night darkened just before the break when star center Nikola Jokic suffered a left knee injury; he did not return for the second half, and the defeat left the Nuggets searching for answers before Wednesday’s trip to Toronto.
The injury happened with about six seconds remaining in the second quarter while Jokic was defending in the paint. As he shuffled his feet, teammate Spencer Jones was pushed backward and stepped on Jokic’s planted left foot, causing his knee to buckle and hyperextend. Jokic collapsed, grabbed his knee, and limped off. He was first listed as questionable to return but was ultimately sidelined for the remainder of the game.
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In the first half he had 19 points, five rebounds and eight assists in 19:21 of action. Jokic has been dominant this season, averaging 29.9 points, 12.2 rebounds and 11 assists. With him on the floor the Nuggets outscored opponents by 12.6 points per 100 possessions versus a minus-4.0 net rating without him. He recently became the NBA’s career assists leader among centers and is one triple-double shy of tying Oscar Robertson. He was viewed as an MVP front-runner before the injury.
The immediate worry is a ligament injury, which would be the most serious outcome and could force an extended absence. Denver scheduled an MRI and additional testing on Tuesday to determine the extent of the damage; the team said results would follow.
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Coach David Adelman reflected per USA Today, “Immediately, he knew something was wrong,” and added, “We’ll learn more tomorrow and move forward as a team.” For now, Denver waits for imaging results and hopes for the best as it faces the Raptors on Wednesday.
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