Nikola Jokic trolls Jamal Murray after box-score stuffing defensive performance

The Utah Jazz lost 95-116 to the Denver Nuggets last night, marking the Jazz's 13th loss in a row. For what it's worth Jazz fans, the writing was already on the wall in this one. Six of Utah's best players sat out this game. Considering Utah has already been eliminated from the playoffs, it's time to let the chips fall where they may and pray for a favorable return in the lottery. 

The Denver Nuggets, who have won four of their last five games, are in a completely different situation. The Nuggets are currently second in the Western Conference and have their sights set on first place with only three games left to go in the regular season. The only real concern for Denver this season is Jamal Murray's health. He's missed 23 games and is on track to play the second least amount of games in a season in his career. Yet, with that being said if last night's performance is any indicator of how Jamal Murray is feeling, another trip to the NBA Finals is not impossible for Denver. 

After missing seven games due to a knee injury, Jamal Murray has returned for the Denver Nuggets. Thankfully, it didn't take Murray too long to rediscover his rhythm. In only his second game back, Murray already appears back in form. In the game against the Jazz, Murray recorded a career-high five dunks in the first half and finished the game with 28 points, 4 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks, and 2 rebounds.

Afterward, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said Murray was "the defensive player of the game" and credited him for taking the challenge of "guarding some of their bigger players." Some Denver Nuggets players, however, were less impressed by this.

Nikola Jokic called out his teammate playfully after the game, telling The Denver Post's Bennet Durando, "He's just going for stats. He doesn't really play defense."

Per @BennettDurando on Twitter/X:

This is coming from the same guy who was just three assists away from his 26th triple-double of the season? Last night, Jokic scored 28 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists, securing his 65th double-double of the season. Takes one to know one Nikola!

In between joking, Jokic praised his point guard after the game telling ESPN, "He’s a warrior. Obviously, he really wants to play and when he plays he doesn’t think about it. Hopefully, he’s back now because we need him."

The comradery between Jokic and Murray speaks volumes about the two's bond and chemistry on and off the court. On top of that, if both of these guys continue to dominate the stat-sheet, it's going to be tough sledding getting past the Nuggets in the West.