Nikola Jokić: We have to be hungrier

The Denver Nuggets are struggling against weaker teams. They've lost to New Orleans, Washington and most recently Portland, when Anfernee Simons scored the game-winning basket at the buzzer. Now the Pelicans came to visit them again, and the champion from 2023 almost lost again to one of the weakest teams in the league. When they survived CJ McCollum's shot to win, the league's best player stepped in and solved the match in overtime.

Nikola Jokić scored eight of Denver's 13 points in overtime for a 132-129 victory. He recorded 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for a new triple-double performance. After the match, in a statement on the court, he explained what the Nuggets' problem was and what was needed to prevent such things from happening again.

"They shot well. We left the players alone that we shouldn't have left. They played quickly in their rhythm, especially in the first half, where we didn't play good defense. We came back, turned it around, and that's the most important thing. I don't know how we don't panic. "It seems we like to turn the score around. It's not fun to play like that. We have to be hungrier," explained Jokić.

Nikola Jokić: It was an advantage for us

They dropped the ball to him in the low post, he broke the rival in the racket and in the end brought victory to the Denver Nuggets. There wasn't too much thinking when the key moments came because the ball was going into his hands.

"It was an advantage for us and I wanted to use it in the best possible way. We play better when we have a condensed and difficult schedule. When we have a few days of rest, then we play poorly," the Serbian center concluded.

It will be interesting to see how much this team can really do. They have quality individuals, but that will not be the key to success in the future.