Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is the reigning NBA MVP and could easily win the award again this season.
His numbers are even better in 2021-22 and he's carried a Nuggets team into the top six of the Western Conference standings despite fellow stars Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. missing most of the season due to injuries.
Forsberg: The Celtics are putting the rest of the NBA on notice
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Jokic has dominated opponents all season, but there's one team that's given him more trouble than most.
It's the Boston Celtics, who gave an excellent performance at both ends of the court in a 124-104 win in Denver on Sunday night.
One of the keys to the Celtics' victory was their defense on Jokic. It was so impressive that Jokic had plenty of praise for the C's after the game.
Jokic finished 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes -- a steep decline from his season averages of 26.1 points, 13.6 rebounds and eight assists per game. Jokic also struggled as a shooter, hitting just eight of 23 attempts. Jokic is shooting just 39.5 percent in two games versus Boston this year, which is way down from his season average of 57 percent.
The Celtics have the league's best defensive rating (105.5) and two of their players -- Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III -- are candidates for Defensive Player of the Year.
Boston Celtics
Boston has won 19 of its last 22 games. This team's turnaround since Jan. 1 has been remarkable, and it all starts on defense.