On January 27, Beijing time, the Nuggets defeated the Nets, who played almost all substitutes, 124-118 away. The Nuggets improved to 26-21, further outlining the team behind them and placing them sixth in the West. Jokic played a quasi-triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, and Barton had 21 points and 10 rebounds. On the bench, both Rockets players Austin Rivers and Cousins played well. Rivers Jr. scored 25 points and Cousins had 13 points and six rebounds.
Rivers Jr. was very efficient in this game, shooting 8 of 11 from the field and 7-of-10 from three-point range, with 25 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 2 steals, plus-minus of a game-high +15. Cousins played just 13 minutes as a substitute for Jokic, shooting 4-of-10, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 3-of-4 from the free throw line for 13 points and six rebounds.
Rivers Jr. has scored in double figures in three consecutive games, with the Nuggets winning three straight. Rivers Jr. is now a very stable scorer on the Nuggets bench, earning just $2.4 million a year this season.
Cousins is the player who has recently signed King Kong. The Nuggets have been plagued by injuries this season, and Cousins was brought in to relieve the pressure on Jokic. With neither Murray nor Michael Potter Jr. playing, Jokic's offensive pressure was high. Not only does he have to score points, but he is also the core of the organization, but also has to rush for rebounds and defense.
The arrival of Cousins allowed Jokic to go off the field, and the Nuggets still had a player on the inside who could cut points efficiently. Cousins is indeed past his peak and is not as efficient offensively as he used to be, but it is still feasible for him to act as an interior substitute. Just like this game, Cousins helped the Nuggets hold up the center for 13 minutes, which is also the rest time of Jokic in this game.
During Jokic's break, the Nuggets also won the Nets by two points.
Cousins and Rivers Jr. both played for the Rockets and are now Jokic's best helpers. Jokic captured MVP last season and this season he remains one of the favourites for MVP. In last week's official MVP strength list, Jokic ranked first.
Jokic has averaged 26.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists this season and is shooting 57.6 percent from the field. His scoring was on par with last season's, his rebounds were higher than last season's, and only assists dropped a bit. It can be said that Jokic's performance this season is not inferior to last season. In particular, Jokic has been very aggressive in recent attacks, scoring 25+ in 6 consecutive games.
Obviously, Jokic's hope of impacting the MVP is still not small, and the key is to continue to improve the Nuggets' record ranking. If the Nuggets finish in the top four in the West, then the probability of Jokic taking the MVP again is very high. The Nuggets are now 0.5 wins behind the fifth-place Lone Rangers in the West and 3.5 wins behind the Fourth Jazz in the West.