Russell Westbrook’s four-word reaction for the Clippers in comparison to Nikola Jokic

Leonard Kawhi is absent? Not an issue. In a crucial win, Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Clippers held off Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

Los Angeles, California – Leonard Kawhi is absent? Not an issue. In a thrilling victory, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, the reigning NBA Champions, thanks to a combined bench effort spearheaded by Russell Westbrook.

In Los Angeles, the Clippers defeated the Nuggets, 102–100. With 28 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals on 10 of 21 shots, Paul George led the way for LA. James Harden finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists on just 6 of 23 shots. Despite having a difficult start, Ivica Zubac ended the game with 14 points and 15 rebounds.

But the Clippers bench was the one that rallied the club from what appeared to be an inevitable defeat after they had fallen behind by 12 points early in the contest. In addition to scoring 12 points and dishing out five assists, Norman Powell scored 11 points while Amir Coffey contributed 9 points. Russell Westbrook scored 12 points.

The Clippers bench outscored Denver’s 34-9 as a unit, showing that they were the game-changing players.

Nikola Jokic, the standout player for the Nuggets, was in complete control of the game, recording his 129th career triple-double with 36 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists. Despite Jokic’s dominance, he still trails Russell Westbrook, the all-time leader, by 79 triple-doubles, with 198.

Russell Westbrook responded to ClutchPoints when inquired about fellow triple-double monster Nikola Jokic, saying, “Well listen, ain’t nobody like me.” “Nobody seems to like me.” That’s going to end right there. No one enjoys me. Although Nikola is a terrific player, nobody of us are the same. He’s obviously won MVP twice, if not once. He’s a fierce guard, a great passer, and he competes hard. We overcame him this evening.”

Despite the glowing answer about the himself versus the league’s two-time MVP, who also has the potential to win his third this year, Westbrook followed it up for even more praise for Nikola Jokic.

“High IQ. Very, very high. Knows how to play the game very well, knows where guys are gonna be. He does a good job of playing with great pace, especially against us.”

Nikola Jokic saw opportunities for the Nuggets to grab control of the game, but were never able to. The 17-point first quarter lead was quickly squandered and Denver never led in the second half.

“They’re a talented team,” Nikola Jokic said of the Clippers. “They’re a talented group of people and they know what they have to do. We had the lead in the first quarter and the. It was just like a detail and little things. I think we had opportunities to win the game, we just didn’t take it.”

James Harden
With Kawhi Leonard still injured, the league’s 2017–18 MVP appears to have turned the corner in terms of offensive productivity, which is encouraging.

In the victory on Thursday night, James Harden only made 6-of-23 (26 percent) shots from the field. Even still, if you’ve watched the Clippers play, you can see that they’ve won handily, largely because of James Harden’s dearth of shot attempts in recent weeks.

Harden had three or fewer made field goals in 19 of his games this season going into Thursday’s contest. His rookie (50 games) and sophomore (44 games) seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder were the only two other seasons he had more games with three or fewer field goals made.

Tyronn Lue, the head coach, and James Harden have talked about using the guard in a variety of ways, including giving him more solitary opportunities.

James Harden is among the league’s top isolation players this season, per NBA.com/stats. In fact, Harden is presently fourth among players who attempt three isolations each game, behind Dejounte Murray, DeMar DeRozan, and Kawhi Leonard at 1.12 points per isolation. Additionally, it is ranked higher than Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Luka Doncic.

“I mean, I didn’t make any shots, but the shit felt good,” James Harden said after the win. “I ain’t going to lie. In my mind, I’ve got the scoring mentality still. So, it’s like, I missed and I took 13 threes, if four more goes in, that’s a killer game. You know, the shots don’t go in, but I think most of them were really good shots.”

Nikola Jokic also explained the difficulty of being in a situation like Harden’s, where a player is an absolutely gifted scorer and playmaker.

“It’s hard to when you play with a couple really good players with you because you want to get them involved because you know they can score 30 or 40 any given night,” Jokic said of Harden. “I think he developed into a great facilitator. He’s finding the open guy. Yes, maybe he missed a couple shots, but he’s capable of having amazing nights.”

Russell Westbrook wasn’t overly concerned with James Harden’s recent scoring issues when asked about them.

It’s included in the game. I think the game tells you what to do all the time. James is therefore intelligent enough to determine what the game is asking for, whether it be passing or scoring.

The Clippers, led by James Harden and Russell Westbrook, have only 16 hours to celebrate their victory over the Nuggets before they take on the Utah Jazz.