Jokić’s stat chase
Nikola Jokić needs 68 assists over the next 10 games to finish a second straight season averaging a triple‑double—he’s leading the league in that rebounds/assists combo now (x.com). Denver’s tilt with Phoenix on March 24 had clear playoff implications as the Nuggets jockey for seeding with Jokić back in the fold (yardbarker.com).
Nikola Jokić finished Tuesday in Phoenix with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 17 assists, hitting the go‑ahead jumper with 11.5 seconds left in Denver’s 125‑123 victory. (espn.com) That performance produced what outlets counted as his 29th triple‑double of the regular season, the most triple‑doubles by any player in the 2025‑26 campaign. (landofbasketball.com) StatMuse listed Jokić with 569 assists entering the Phoenix game; adding the 17 assists from Tuesday moves his season total to 586 assists. (statmuse.com) Jokić already joined Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook as one of the few players to average a triple‑double for a season in recent history, a benchmark first reached by him in 2024‑25 and documented by the NBA. (nba.com) The Phoenix result kept Denver firmly in the Western‑conference seeding mix — the Nuggets improved to 45‑28 and were jockeying for positioning late in the regular season, a context national previews flagged ahead of the matchup. (espn.com)
