On Tuesday night, the Denver Nuggets faced the Portland Trail Blazers in a game with playoff ramifications. The Blazers prevailed, winning 122-113. A big part of that win was big man Jusuf Nurkic.
The Nuggets shipped a disgruntled Nurkic to Rip City in February in exchange for Mason Plumlee. On Tuesday, Nurkic scored a career-high 33 points, adding 16 rebounds and three blocks. Plumlee on the other hand, had zero points, one rebound and one block.
Nurkic said it wasn’t personal. Funny, it certainly felt that way. Afterwards, he had the following to say.
Jusuf Nurkić talks that talk after beating his former team 👀 pic.twitter.com/3ZPpUqsX1v
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 29, 2017
After the loss, the Nuggets have just a seven percent chance of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight.com. Who would have thought wishing someone a good summer could be such serious shade? Needless to say, Nurkic should not expect any invitations for banana boat rides from his former teammates.