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The Denver Nuggets have continued to suffer a losing streak, as they recorded their fourth consecutive defeat against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. Despite a standout performance by star player Nikola Jokic, Denver was defeated with a final score of 125-110.
Jokic Leads Denver Despite Defeat
Jokic put up impressive numbers, finishing the match with 28 points, shooting 10 of 13 from the field, eight rebounds, and seven assists. However, his attempts to "pad his stats" during the latter stages of the game garnered criticism from fans and media, who took to social media to question his candidacy for the MVP award.
Jokic when he realizes he doesn’t have 10 assists pic.twitter.com/okhR8hcV1W — 🧤 (@melosgoat) March 15, 2023
Nuggets Coach Calls for Return to Swagger
Nuggets coach Michael Malone acknowledged the team's struggles, saying, "Right now we’re just in chill mode, and you can’t be in chill mode with 13 games to go in the season.
We’ve got to try to find a way to get our swagger back." He further added, "Maybe we’ve gotten a little soft with success. We’ve been on cruise control for so long, No. 1 in the West since like December 15. I just told our players we’ve gotten away from who we are." The Nuggets have now allowed their opponents to score 100 or more points in five straight games and 120 or more in each of their past three.
Jokic, who is a two-time consecutive MVP of the league, entered the last month of the NBA season as a leading contender for the award, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid. In addition to Jokic, the only other Nugget in form was Michael Porter, who contributed 23 points.
On the other hand, Fred VanVleet was in top form for the Raptors, finishing the match with 36 points. Despite Jokic's efforts, the Denver Nuggets will look to bounce back from this defeat and regain their winning form as the season approaches its end.