Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) controls the ball against Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) during the second half of game three in the first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Intuit Dome. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Frustrated Nikola Jokic shows rare emotion in 34-point loss

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Apr 25, 2025 10:40 AM ET

Nikola Jokic is a man of few emotions, but he let it rip on his teammates during the Nuggets' 117-83 blowout loss to the Clippers on Thursday in Game 3.

During a Nuggets timeout in the second half, he was seen yelling at Nuggets assistant coach Ryan Saunders over a specific play that had just occurred. Per reporters at the Intuit Dome, Jokic was similarly animated during several other timeouts in the third quarter.

Jokic was heated on bench during Nuggets 34-point loss pic.twitter.com/XXG3P79bzA
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) April 25, 2025

His frustrations are perfectly understandable.

The Nuggets were up 26-19 early in the first quarter courtesy of an incredible start from Jokic, who recorded seven assists, more than the entire Clippers team, within the first nine minutes, and seemed primed for one of his MVP-esque nights.

Just then, Denver's lackluster defense — a problem that has plagued it all season — reared its ugly head, allowing Los Angeles to go on a 9-2 run to close the quarter.

Things went from bad to worse when Jokic took a breather at the start of the second quarter, with the Clippers' seven-point deficit ballooning to 15 within the next five minutes.

The sequence highlighted a recurring trend for the Nuggets all season. The team had an offensive rating of 122.1 with Jokic on the floor during the regular season, which would have ranked No. 1 in the league, and 112.3 with him off the floor, which would have ranked last.

Jokic finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in Thursday's loss. The stat line went in vain as the Nuggets suffered the largest loss when a player records a triple-double in NBA postseason history.

The Nuggets' struggles further the notion that Jokic may be the biggest one-man band in NBA history. He has never played next to an All-Star, All-NBA or All-Defensive player in his career, the longest streak for any MVP winner in NBA history.

Nikola Jokić had 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists tonight. The Nuggets lost by 34.

That's the largest loss in a playoff triple-double in NBA history.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) April 25, 2025

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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