On January 16, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA regular season continued. In today's Western Conference focus battle, the Lakers challenged the Nuggets on the road. The Lakers are 7th in the West with 21 wins and 21 losses, and the Nuggets are 6th in the West with 21 wins and 19 losses.
Lakers veteran Howard had the opportunity to start in today's game, and he will face last season's MVP Jokic in the game. In the confrontation with Jokic, Howard once again had the upper hand. He quickly hit his first shot of the day, and it was a form of single-handed Jokic.
In the first quarter, Howard was almost unstoppable. He then won many times under the basket, including grabbing the rebound in the front court that Westbrook missed on the basket and strengthening the Nuggets basket. He also received a pass from James, a hooker hit from the basket. He then received a pass from Munch and dunked it under the basket.
In this quarter, Howard shot 5 of 6 and 1 of 2 from the free throw line, with 11 points and three rebounds. For comparison, Jokic had 6 points and 3 rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting, with one goal going unscathed by Howard.
Howard's outstanding performance has also attracted heated discussion among fans, many of whom said: "Every time Jokic and Howard are in opposition, the latter acts like an All-Star player." Another fan wrote: "Howard wants to be able to match Jokic every night in the game. ”
In the 2020 Lakers eliminated the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, Howard was the Lakers' secret weapon against Jokic.