Jokic downplays most things, but he even acknowledged this one.
The Denver Nuggets put on an offensive clinic Wednesday night, rolling past the Dallas Mavericks 142-135 behind one of the most impressive dual performances from their two stars this season.
Jamal Murray erupted for a season-high 53 points on 19-of-28 shooting, and Nikola Jokic filled up the box score with 23 points, 21 rebounds and a season-high 19 assists in what amounted to yet another monster triple-double in a season full of them.
After the game, Jokic broke down what it looks like when he and Murray are both feeling it on the same night, and how the two of them read each other on the fly.
"I mean for me, especially when Jamal is having that kind of game, just trying to get him open," Jokic said. "I know he's going to take and make shots. They started blitzing him and it was my turn to get everybody involved."
Jokic Keeps Things Simple
That ability to shift gears in real time is what makes the Jokic-Murray partnership so tough to deal with.
When defenses load up on Murray, Jokic becomes the most dangerous passer on the floor and starts carving teams apart.
And when they try to take the ball out of Jokic's hands, Murray can go get 53 on his own.
It was that kind of night in Denver, the type of game where opposing coaches run out of answers and can only hope to outscore a team that's clicking on all cylinders.
The Nuggets have been playing more consistent basketball as of late, winning four straight and looking like a team that's starting to figure things out at the right time.
Denver improved to 46-28 on the season with the win, sitting firmly in the Western Conference playoff picture while Dallas dropped to 23-50 with its fifth consecutive loss.
Beautiful Basketball or Just Winning?
When asked if he tries to play a beautiful style of basketball, Jokic gave a very Jokic answer, almost like he was annoyed by the premise of the question.
"I don't know if it's beautiful," Jokic said. "When we pass around and get open looks, it's beautiful, but is it really important? I would rather just win games than play beautiful."
And look, that kind of sums up who Jokic is as a player and a competitor. He doesn't care about style points, he doesn't care about putting together some kind of highlight reel. He wants to win, and everything else is secondary.
The connection between him and Murray has been one of the best duos in basketball for years now, and nights like Wednesday are a reminder of just how dangerous Denver can be when both guys are locked in and feeding off each other.
Jokic is averaging 27.8 points, 12.8 rebounds and 10.8 assists this season, leading the league in both rebounds and assists per game.
Murray is putting up career-best numbers at 25.0 points and 7.1 assists per game, and his 53-point explosion against Dallas felt like an exclamation point on what has already been a breakout year.
The whole thing comes at a good time too, with the Nuggets fighting for positioning in a loaded Western Conference and the playoffs right around the corner.
If Denver's two best players keep performing like this together, the rest of the West has a problem.