hit one of the biggest 3-point shots of his young career on March 24, a rainbow jumper that helped halt a furious Indiana rally during a Nuggets victory.
It was a rare highlight during a stretch that has seen Denver’s best player go cold from the outside. Jokic entered Friday’s game against New Orleans shooting just 15.6 percent (5-of-32) from 3-point range since March 13.
Jokic was 0-of-5 in Denver’s 110-104 loss at Houston on Wednesday, part of a dreadful 7-of-38 showing from long range for the Nuggets. The 6-foot-10 center was shooting 37.1 percent before the recent skid, which gives the second-year player comfort amid his slump.
“A couple of the last ones went in and out,” Jokic said. “I shoot every shot the same. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t go in. Last game it didn’t want to go in.”
Jokic said he will put consistent work into his outside shot this season, but he’s also not trying make it the primary weapon in an impressive offensive arsenal.
“He’s shown that he can make that shot, and he’s a skilled player,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “To his point, you don’t want any of your bigs to become reliant upon the shot. He’s one of your best finishers around the basket. … If he’s open from the 3-point line, sure. Feel the game, feel the situation, but we like putting him at the post and at the elbows, and his versatility is what makes him such a special player.”
Triple-double lost. Scorekeepers in Houston appeared to miss an assist for Jokic in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game that cost the center his seventh triple-double of the season.
Jokic caught a pass from in the high post and immediately shoveled it to , who caught it and hit a 3-pointer in one motion. Though the bucket came as a direct result from a pass from Jokic, no assist was awarded.
Jokic finished with 12 points, 19 rebounds and nine assists in the game. Malone and his staff reviewed footage of the play and said Jokic should’ve had triple-double No. 7.
“The NBA, their status on that is that assists are subjective, and they don’t go back and change assists,” Malone said. “They don’t go back and change assists. They’re not going to give it to him.”
