“Our game plan was to make him score and take away his passing,” Los Angeles Clippers coach Ty Lue said after the historic night. “I didn’t think he would score 55.”
Nikola Jokic did score 55, as part of a history-making night where the Denver Nuggets star center led the team past their West foes 130-116. Jokic became the first center in NBA history to score 25 points in a first quarter as he led the Nuggets to a quick start as part of a back-to-back with a late win in Sacramento on Tuesday. But the effort stalled in part due to two injuries to Denver starters Christian Bruan and Cameron Johnson. That forced Jokic to do somehow even more, and he did. The Nuggets lost their 10-point lead and ended up down 10 before Jokic really got cooking again and flame up is what he did.
Scoring the third-best mark of his career, 55 points, Jokic shot an absurd 18 of 23 from the field, including five makes on six tries from deep, plus another 14 hits on 16 attempts from the stripe. The three-time MVP also snagged 12 rebounds, threw six assists and was a game high plus-28. Making it all the more impressive is that he did it against last year’s All-Defensive Team center Ivca Zubac, who has seen more of Jokic than anyone over the last 16 months. And spelling him is Brook Lopez, who has twice been on the All-Defensive Team. Heck, he outscored the entire Clippers starting group, which tallied 54 points.
The funny thing is, when Jokic cooks like this, it usually comes in vain.
“I think this is the first time I scored 50 and we won. So it’s a good feeling,” Jokic correctly said, referencing the Nuggets’ 0-4 record when the big fella tallied more than 50 coming into Wednesday.
Jokic also became the first player in NBA history to average a 35-point triple-double while shooting 60% or better across a six-game stretch. His torrid efficiency has also easily given him the best five-game true shooting pace in league history, besting Steph Curry, who previously held the eighth-best quintet.
But again, the effort was needed as part of the back-to-back. Jokic was the first in league history to score 90 or more points on 80% shooting or better over two games in two days. It was needed because of the issues with the team’s starting unit. On a day the Clippers lost both three-time All-Star Bradley Beak for the season and two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard for the game, the Nuggets went down two of their starters early. Cameron Johnson went straight ot the locker room after hurting his right arm in the first quarter. Then a period later Christian Braun tried to battle through a left ankle injury that also sent him to to the locker room.
“Obviously, whatever happened wasn’t good enough for them to come back out and play the third quarter, so that’s concerning,” David Adelman said after the game. “But I really don’t know, and I don’t think they do either. We have a full day here (in Los Angeles) tomorrow to kind of get all that stuff sorted out, which will be good for me, too. Because if they are out, or if they’re in, we have to figure out a way to make our rotation make sense. So I’m hoping for the best.”
For the time being, it was two-way wing Spencer Jones and Tim Hardaway Jr. getting more minutes, though it’s likely this may open up some playing time for Julian Strawther if either misses a stretch. Neither player is off to a good start through 11 games, but the two have been mostly fine. They’ve played their role, haven’t gotten in the way, had their own moments, and have strapped up at times on defense. Johnson has already been fighting a shoulder issue, and has struggled to stay on the floor the last few years, while Braun almost never misses games, only thrice sitting over the past three seasons.
“These things happen, and there are bangs and bruises and all these things,” Adelman said. “So that’s why you have a team. And the next man will step up. Tonight they did.”
HAVE YOURSELF A NIGHT NIKOLA JOKIĆ.
⚒️ 55 PTS (33 IN 1H)
⚒️ 12 REB
⚒️ 6 AST
⚒️ 18-23 FGM
⚒️ 5-6 3PM
⚒️ 34 MIN
⚒️ DEN W
He’s just the 4th player in NBA history to score 55 PTS on 78 FG% or better 🤯 pic.twitter.com/NpKKAK6rna
— NBA (@NBA) November 13, 2025
What’s next for the Nuggets
We’ll see about the two key players’ injuries on Friday when they’re designated ahead of the team’s next game, another trip to Minnesota. If the Nuggets do pull it out against the Wolves, it’ll be the team’s best 12-game start in 40 years, when the 1985-86 group started 11-2.
