The worst possible thing that could happen to the streaking Denver Nuggets happened in the team’s 127-120 victory over the Pheonix Suns on Thursday.
Center Nikola Jokic went down hard late in the fourth quarter, suffering what the team later identified as a left hip strain.
With Thursday night’s victory, Denver has now won six of their last eight games. Over that eight-game span Jokic has claimed a game-high in points in seven of those games, including 29 against Phoenix. He has been the top rebounder in five of those games, Thursday night included, and he has posted seven double-doubles.
Denver climbed above .500 (12-11) at home with the win and holds a one-game lead over Portland for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
Head coach Michael Malone was unable to give an update on Jokic’s condition after the game. Jokic underwent x-rays with the results coming back negative. An MRI for Jokic is scheduled for Friday.
Jokic was on the ground in pain for about a minute and a half before walking off partially under his own power. Once he made his way off the court he was carted back to X-Ray room.
Nikola Jokić left the game with a left hip strain. The x-rays were negative and he will undergo an MRI tomorrow. #Nuggets pic.twitter.com/34uMYv0Q1Z
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 27, 2017
After hobbling back to the locker room under his own power, Jokic was seen smiling and cracking jokes with his teammates; however, was not made available to the media for comment.
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While nothing has been made official, the vibe surrounding Jokic’s condition seems to be a positive one.
Once the MRI results come back, the full details of the injury will become known, but for the time being it seems like the injury is nothing too serious.
Jokic is averaging 15.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game this season.