Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray have been teammates for almost a decade, so when Murray has a night like he did last night – 52 points on 19-for-25 shooting from the field and 10-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc – it feels like business as usual for the three-time MVP. 

“I mean, to be honest, I’ve played with him and I’ve watched him for such a long time, I don’t know if [Murray] does anything that impresses me anymore,” Jokić said during a postgame press interview following the Nuggets’ win over the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 3. “But let’s say when he gets going and when he made like two 3’s in a row, then you can feel his confidence.”

Murray is averaging 24.7 points on a 50.3% clip from the field and a 45.2% clip from 3-point range this season – all career high marks for the guard who’s over a month into his 10th NBA season. 

Another Strong Contribution From Jokić 

While Murray had the show-stopping night against the Pacers, it wouldn’t be a Nuggets game if Jokić did not put up a staggering stat line as well. 

The seven-time all-star, who has played in all 21 of Denver’s games so far, came up two rebounds short of his 12th triple-double of the season. 

This has happened quite often this season, where Jokić is an assist or rebound shy of that triple-double mark – which is what he’s averaging thus far on the young campaign with 28.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game. 

If Jokić keeps up this pace – 11 triple-doubles through the first 21 games of the season – he’ll find his way to the top of the NBA’s all-time triple-double list in no time. He is already third on the list with 175 and is only six behind Hall-of-Famer Oscar Robertson’s tally of 181.

And with Russell Westbrook sitting as the current all-time leader with 206 – which Jokić is only 31 away from – it would not come as a surprise if the Nuggets’ big man ended up breaking the record when it’s all said and done, especially since Westbrook is a lot closer to retirement than Jokić is. 

The Nuggets’ next three games are on the road against the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Sacramento Kings before they return home to Denver for a four-game slate. 

Denver currently sits in fifth place in the Western Conference, holding the same record, 15-6, as the San Antonio Spurs.