The Nuggets suffered their first defeat in seven games on Saturday, and Jokic acknowledged the physicality.
The Denver Nuggets had been rolling heading into Saturday's rematch with the Houston Rockets, winners of six straight and looking every bit like one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
But the Rockets had other plans, and they walked out of Ball Arena with a 115-101 win that snapped Denver's streak and handed them their lowest-scoring game of the season so far.
From Nuggets head coach David Adelman getting ejected to Kevin Durant and Bruce Brown exchanging words on the court, this one had all the makings of a playoff game.
After the loss, Nikola Jokic was asked if it felt like a playoff-level contest, but the three-time MVP wasn't ready to go that far.
"I mean we can say that, but I think that's how they play," Jokic said. "I think it was a good regular season game."
Jokic Embraces the Physical Nature of the Contest
There's no question that Saturday's game was the most physical of Denver's season up to this point, and it gave fans a taste of what a postseason matchup between these two teams might look like.
While Jokic didn't call it a playoff game, he made it clear that he enjoys the bumping and grinding that comes with playing a team like Houston.
"Yeah. I mean, I like to play with contact. It's good, it's a lot of bumping and pushing. It's kind of nice," Jokic said about the physical nature of Saturday's game.
The intensity on the court carried over to some heated moments, including Durant and Brown going back and forth during the game, which added fuel to the fire.
When asked about the trash talk, Jokic shrugged it off.
"They can do whatever. I think some people like to do that; some people don't care. Some people get their energy from that. I don't care," Jokic said.
What Went Wrong for Denver
The Nuggets simply couldn't keep up with Houston's shooting on Saturday, and that was the difference.
The Rockets knocked down 19 of their 35 three-point attempts, shooting a blistering 54 percent from beyond the arc, while Denver connected on just 8 of 29 attempts from deep for a rough 27 percent.
Jokic led the Nuggets with 25 points on 9-of-20 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and five assists, but it wasn't the typical dominant triple-double performance that fans have come to expect.
Jamal Murray added 16 points in the loss, while Durant led all scorers with 31 points and rookie Reed Sheppard caught fire in the third quarter to help Houston pull away.
Denver was also without key defender Peyton Watson due to a right trunk contusion, which made guarding Durant even more difficult than usual.
Looking Ahead
With the loss, the Nuggets drop to 20-7 on the season while still holding the second seed in the Western Conference.
The Rockets improved to 17-8 and sit in the top five out West. These two teams have now split their two meetings this season after Denver took the first matchup in overtime earlier in the week.
Despite losing a tough one, Jokic is still having an incredible year and leads the league in triple-doubles.
He's averaging 29.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 10.9 assists per game while shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor.
Games like Saturday are bound to happen over the course of an 82-game season, and the Nuggets will look to bounce back when they host the Utah Jazz on Monday night.