Basketball has returned after the NBA went on a week-long hiatus to accommodate All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Morning Dunk is back to keep you posted on everything you may have missed from the first slate of games for this final stretch of the 2023-24 regular season.
Jokic Triple-Double Vs. Wizards Makes History
Literally no team across the Association is safe from the monumental output Nikola Jokic is capable of producing on any given night.
The Denver Nuggets star finished with 21 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists in 31 minutes of action while shooting a perfect 10-of-10 from the field in a blowout 130-110 victory over the visiting Washington Wizards.
To put Jokic's latest triple-double into historical context, the two-time league Most Valuable Player has now recorded such a stat line against all 29 teams he's competed against, joining LeBron James and Russell Westbrook as the only players to accomplish that feat.
Nikola Jokic has done it.
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) February 23, 2024
He now has a triple-double against all 29 teams that he's played against.#TripleDoubleDay pic.twitter.com/nnGaCSgOKD
Jokic's triple-double gives him 16 for the season, which is three behind Domantas Sabonis for the most overall. He also currently has the strongest odds to become a three-time MVP winner at -125.
Warriors' Surge Continues Against LeBron-less Lakers
The Golden State Warriors are slowly but surely climbing the ranks in the Western Conference, and all other teams vying for a play-in tournament berth or a lower seed to escape its grasp need to be looking over their shoulder.
Golden State won for the ninth time in 11 tries on Thursday by defeating the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers 128-110 at the Chase Center. Stephen Curry dropped 32 points to lead all scorers, while Trayce Jackson-Davis came off the bench to contribute 17 points in just 15 minutes.
Stephen Curry was ON FIRE in Golden State's win against the Lakers 🔥
— NBA (@NBA) February 23, 2024
32 PTS | 8 AST | 6 3PM | 3 STL pic.twitter.com/fROYCO4386
The Warriors entered the matchup as six-point favorites, covering the spread for the seventh time in eight games. They now trail the Lakers by just half a game for the ninth seed in the loaded West.
Wembanyama Barely Misses Historic Box Score
It's been just over five years since the NBA last saw a player finish with a 5x5 line of at least five points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. First overall pick Victor Wembanyama was ever so close to ending that drought on Thursday.
Wembanyama notched 19 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, five steals and five rejections in a 127-122 road loss for the San Antonio Spurs against the Sacramento Kings. He's just the second rookie since 1973-74 to have at least five steals and five blocks in a game since Jamaal Tinsley in 2001.
Jusuf Nurkic was the last player to have a 5x5 line which he achieved on New Year's Day in 2019.
VICTOR WEMBANYAMA THROWS IT DOWN 😤pic.twitter.com/u5Eq6EEQxm
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 23, 2024
The 7-foot-4 Frenchman has created separation in the Rookie of the Year race, leading the pack at -600 while Chet Holmgren sits at +500.
