We're in an age of basketball where 7-footers are defying logic on a nightly basis, and that was never more apparent than on Thursday night.
Today's edition of The Morning Dunk has all of the NBA news and highlights from the evening's festivities to show you how.
Jokic Banks From near Halfcourt To Beat Warriors
Men of Nikola Jokic's size and stature shouldn't be doing the things he does on the hardwood as regularly as he does them. Yet here we are, once again in awe of his unworldly skill as he puts down yet another team.
With the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter of a 127-127 slugfest, Jokic took the ball off the inbound pass from Denver Nuggets teammate Aaron Gordon, dribbled it just past the halfcourt line, and banked an off-balanced 3-pointer over the outstretched arm of Kevon Looney to beat the buzzer and the Golden State Warriors.
JOKIC CALLS GAME FROM NEAR HALF-COURT 🤯🤯
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 5, 2024
WILD ENDING. pic.twitter.com/JGI5PtmeVm
Jokic was one board shy of yet another triple-double, ending the night with 34 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists across 38 minutes as Denver, who trailed by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter, improved to 25-11 SU.
To put Jokic's mastery into perspective, the two-time league Most Valuable Player has missed a grand total of five shots over his last four games.
Nikola Jokic in his last 4 games:
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) January 5, 2024
34 PTS, 9 REB, 10 AST, 13/16 FG
13 PTS, 11 REB, 6 AST, 6/7 FG
19 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST, 9/10 FG
26 PTS, 14 REB, 10 AST, 11/11 FG https://t.co/0X9birEoiE
With the game-winning bucket, Denver just barely managed to cover the spread as the 2.5-point favorites, improving to 8-5 ATS in its last 13 outings.
Antetokounmpo, Wembanyama Clash Delivers
The present and future of the NBA collided on Thursday, and the true winners were all of the fans who caught the action.
The second meeting between Giannis Antetokounmpo and rookie Victor Wembanyama exceeded expectations during a narrow 125-121 win for the Milwaukee Bucks over the San Antonio Spurs. Antetokounmpo lit up San Antonio for 44 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists, while the 7-foot-4 Frenchman recorded 27 points, nine boards, and five rejections.
Wembanyama blocked superstar guard Damian Lillard at the rim with 1:18 remaining in the fourth quarter before heading down to the other end and drilling a 3-pointer to tie the game at 121 apiece. Not to be outdone, Antetokounmpo then responded with a monster and-1 dunk down the middle to put Milwaukee ahead for good.
The Greek Freak vs. The French Freak
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) January 5, 2024
The first matchup between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama was unbelievable...with this sequence being one of the many moments that'll stick with me. Unreal. pic.twitter.com/8dEfguRXdK
Small victories are still victories, at least to bettors. The Spurs covered the spread as the massive 11-point underdogs, improving to 3-5 ATS in their last eight games. The Bucks, meanwhile, drop to 2-10 ATS in their last 12 games against San Antonio.
