Sunday was devoid of NBA action, yet the Monday edition of The Morning Dunk is still here to provide you with the best NBA news and highlights from this past weekend.
Jokic's Reign Of Terror Continues
A pair of NBA Most Valuable Player awards clearly wasn't enough for the Serbian superstar as Nikola Jokic's numbers indicate he's gunning for a third in four years.
The Denver Nuggets big man notched his league-leading eighth triple-double of the season on Saturday in a 123-117 loss to the Sacramento Kings, finishing with a ridiculous 36 points, 13 rebounds, and 14 assists in 38 minutes of action. His eight triple-doubles are five more than that of Luka Doncic who ranks second overall.
Nikola Jokić is averaging 29.0 PTS, 12.8 REB, 9.8 AST, 1.2 STL and 0.8 BLK, with a +5.8 rTS%.
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) December 3, 2023
Jokić's current box plus/minus of 15.58 is 1.86 clear of his all-time single-season record of 13.72.
That's about the same distance as the gap between 2nd and 10th all time. pic.twitter.com/ezo3y9GcFi
Jokic currently leads the Association in total points (579), rebounds (255), and assists (196). He's the considerable favorite for MVP at the moment at +150, followed by Doncic (+500) and Joel Embiid (+750).
LeBron Mimics Vince
Age is just a number.
You'd think LeBron James would show signs of slowing down at age 39. Heck, you could have said the exact same thing five or six years ago. Well au contraire, because The King is continuing to defy all logic.
Take his performance from Saturday night during a 107-97 win by the Los Angeles Lakers over the visiting Houston Rockets, for example. James spun baseline and performed a mesmerizing 360 layup in traffic, almost paying homage to Vince Carter when he nailed an identical move at the same age seven years prior.
39 year old LeBron James and 39 year old Vince Carter doing the exact same 360 layup 7 years apart 🐐 pic.twitter.com/pZM6dhm6XO
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) December 3, 2023
Unlike the aforementioned Jokic who's at the head of the pack, James is well behind in his bid for a fifth MVP, which would tie Bill Russell and Michael Jordan for the second-most ever. James currently has +9500 odds for the hardware, which is actually second on the Lakers behind teammate Anthony Davis at +7500.
PG13 Seals Clippers' Comeback
The Golden State Warriors trailed one time the entire game against the Los Angeles Clippers, yet that's all it took to lock in their 11th loss of the campaign.
Paul George broke Bay Area hearts watching from afar on Saturday by drilling a game-winning 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining to secure a 113-112 win for the Clippers.
PG13. CLUTCH. 😤 https://t.co/OKFdzgyOFy pic.twitter.com/bfxZtFMT4e
— NBA (@NBA) December 2, 2023
Golden State still managed to cover as 4.5-point underdogs, yet it's still disheartening knowing they had a 22-point lead evaporate. The Warriors are now 3-9 SU in their last 11 games and 3-5 ATS in their last eight.
