Nikola Jokic, Trae Young named Players of the Week

Sarah K. Spencer @sarah_k_spence
Trae Young joins Dominique Wilkins as the only Hawks players to be the NBA’s Player of the Week three times in a season. – 3:54 PM

Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
Heat’s Kyle Lowry a nominee for NBA East Player of Week that went to Atlanta’s Trae Young. – 3:36 PM

Jon Johnson @jonjohnsonwip
In the final days of the regular season, Joel Embiid was nominated, but did not win Eastern Conference player of week. Trae Young for East, Nikola Jokic for West. – 3:36 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Nikola Jokic just won the 11th Player of the Week award of his career, surpassing Carmelo Anthony for the most in Nuggets franchise history. – 3:34 PM

Michael Singer @msinger
Nikola Jokic is named Western Conference player of the week after averaging 34.8 points, 17.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists. #Nuggets went 3-1 this past week. – 3:34 PM

Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Atlanta’s Trae Young were just named Western and Eastern Conference Player of the Week by the NBA.
More NBA from me: https://t.co/LGN9cVpeGP pic.twitter.com/nlajZsTKPH – 3:31 PM

Sarah K. Spencer @sarah_k_spence
Trae Young has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week
Hawks have won five straight games. pic.twitter.com/ZQeFvSCodI – 3:31 PM

Cody Taylor @CodyTaylorNBA
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for Week 24 of the 2021-22 season (March 28 – April 3). pic.twitter.com/PiZIdM2Bup – 3:30 PM

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
NBA Players of the Week for Week 24: Nuggets‘ Nikola Jokic and Hawks‘ Trae Young. – 3:30 PM

Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
Column: Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic is still the NBA MVP & all the 2022 awards belong to next-generation stars @PostSports https://t.co/LWF3p5iGIz pic.twitter.com/g3nUtPvgmQ – 2:49 PM

Henry Abbott @TrueHoop
If you have 3 hours, my friend @David Thorpe (who has hoops on four TVs most nights) can take you on a video tour of why Nikola Jokic is the best player on the planet. If you don’t have 3 hours, not the worst idea to consider statistics, too. https://t.co/7vDbZc3jdM pic.twitter.com/Xf2SKRJSaN – 2:15 PM

Trae Young @TheTraeYoung
Another Day, Another Opportunity💯 – 1:48 PM

NBA Math @NBA_Math
The newest edition of our NBA Player Power Rankings is up, based, as always, on each player’s last 10 games:
10. Kyrie Irving
9. Jayson Tatum
8. Luka Doncic
7. Devin Booker
6. Trae Young
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Full top 25 on @Sportscasting19 via
@fromal09: https://t.co/Q604p76skL pic.twitter.com/ehBXtqB1e4 – 1:31 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Jokic last 7 games:
33.1 PPG
14.4 RPG
7.7 APG
2.1 SPG
70.6 FG%
No one has scored more points on 70% shooting over a 7-game span ever (yes, not even Wilt). pic.twitter.com/kfGJTxTWHO – 11:06 AM

Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Nikola Jokic has led the @Denver Nuggets in points and rebounds – either outright or tied – in each of his last 17 games.
The only player since the ABA-NBA merger with a longer such streak is Moses Malone (18, 1981-82). pic.twitter.com/z3Ot5FARMs – 11:01 AM

Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Nikola Jokic over his last five games:
174 PTS
81 REB
42 AST
70.2 FG%
Jokic is the first NBA player to record at least 160p/80r/40a over a five-game span since Wilt Chamberlain in March 1968.
He’s the only player to also shoot 70% from the field over such a span. pic.twitter.com/94xjrg4rZs – 10:01 AM

JD Shaw @JShawNBA
NBA’s best from April 3:
– J. Embiid: 44 pts, 17 reb, 5 blk
– N. Jokic: 38 pts, 18 reb, 6 ast
– L. Doncic: 32 pts, 8 reb, 15 ast
– J. Brown: 32 pts, 7 reb, 12-17 fg
– A. Davis: 28 pts, 9 reb, 8 ast
– R. Westbrook: 27 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast
– T. Haliburton: 19 pts, 17 ast, 0 to – 9:41 AM

Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Nikola Jokic yesterday:
38 PTS
18 REB
6 AST
15-22 FG
Jokic became the first player in NBA history to record at least 35p/10r/5a and shoot 65% from the field in three consecutive games. pic.twitter.com/KLS7N366J6 – 9:11 AM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Nikola Jokic with Hall of Fame harness racer Tim Tetrick in the Winner’s Circle at Meadowlands Racetrack back in December. Jokic repped @tetrickracing today before and after putting 38 points, 18 rebounds and 6 assists on the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/8yBSrJxg4i – 1:42 AM

Jeff Wade @SkinWade
Twitter is where you come to find people confidently suggest that Trae Young is better at reading and manipulating defenses than Chris Paul. God love ‘em – 12:35 AM

Trae Young @TheTraeYoung
She UP right now! Keep Inspiring Coach! pic.twitter.com/wQgdNTBSKg – 11:14 PM

Austin Krell @NBAKrell
There are legitimate arguments for Embiid, Jokic, and Giannis to be MVP. It isn’t that any one of them is undeserving. It’s that the others have made their impacts in different ways and are doing just as much. That’s why there are so many votes. Voters value different things. – 9:57 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Nikola Jokic is having a unicorn season.
First player in top 10 PPG, RPG, APG, FG% in last 50 seasons.
Highest single-season PER ever.
First 25/13/6 season ever (he’s averaging 27/14/8). pic.twitter.com/wTZbVTlOEj – 8:04 PM

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Jokic continues to make MVP case, scores 38 on LeBron-less Lakers in Nuggets win nba.nbcsports.com/2022/04/03/jok… – 7:53 PM

Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Nikola Jokic today:
38 PTS
18 REB
6 AST
15-22 FG
Jokic has scored 232 points with a 70.6 FG% over his last seven games.
No player in NBA history has scored more points over a seven-game span in which they’ve shot at least 70% from the field. pic.twitter.com/uJA0W99qaB – 6:34 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Frank Vogel said the biggest issue down the stretch was the defense on Nikola Jokic and the match-up problems he created. – 6:30 PM

Adam Mares @Adam_Mares
There’s a Winner’s Lounge and then there’s a beat-the-Lakers Winner’s Lounge.
Jokic takeover mode, engaged
Barton saves the day
Aaron Gordon 📈📈📈
youtube.com/watch?v=g5LKDy… – 6:26 PM

Malika Andrews @malika_andrews
What is the ideal finish to the regular season for the Nuggets? “We win them all… we don’t want to go to the play-in tournament.”
Postgame with Nikola Jokic: pic.twitter.com/wX5t39JUDF – 6:22 PM

TJ McBride @TJMcBrideNBA
Will Barton III and Aaron Gordon stepped up to give Jokic the help he needed tonight in Los Angeles. Huge games from both of them tonight when Denver badly needed a win. – 6:15 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Nikola Jokic’s last 5 games (Nuggets go 4-1):
– 38 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists
– 38 points, 19 rebounds, 8 assists
– 37 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists
– 26 points, 19 rebounds, 11 assists
– 35 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists – 6:15 PM

Duvalier Johnson @DuvalierJohnson
Do you hear that!?
What’s that sound!?
That’s the sound of Nikola Jokic just winning back-to-back MVPS with a 38-point, 6 assist, 18 rebound performance on national tv as the matinee game. pic.twitter.com/5RHimIB2iF – 6:13 PM

Chris Dempsey @chrisadempsey
So what are you doing in winning time?
To close this win in the 4th:
#Nuggets: 10/16 FGs, 11/14 FTs, 32 points, 3 steals, 3 blocks
Lakers: 8/23 FGs, 6/9 FTs, 24 points, 4 turnovers
Jokic had 10 of his 38 points in the 4th. Another masterful performance. – 6:13 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Final rotations for the Nuggets as they beat the Lakers 129-118, effectively ending LA’s season:
-Joker: 38-18-6-3-2, 15/22 FG, had 7 Tovs but +7 in a win
-AG: 24 points, +10, was fantastic first half on O and second half on D
-Barton: 25 points on 12 shots. ELITE.
-Bones: +11 pic.twitter.com/JU8ggrfQeT – 6:12 PM

Vinny Benedetto @VBenedetto
Final: Nuggets 129, Lakers 118. Jokic finishes with 38-18-6. Barton adds 25, Gordon scores 21. Good stuff from Cousins, Bones and Reed off the bench. AD and Russ score 28 and 27, respectively, for the Lakers. Nuggets move into fifth in the West for now. – 6:12 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Nikola Jokic today:
38 PTS
18 REB
6 AST
3 STL
2 BLK
15-22 FG
He joins Giannis as the only players with a 35/15/5/2/2 game this season. pic.twitter.com/MPYKhxebqn – 6:10 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Nikola Jokic today against the Lakers: 38 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks in just 33 minutes. Only 2 second-half turnovers. Nuggets on their way to avoiding the play-in. Jokic on his way to a second-straight MVP. – 6:10 PM

Michael Singer @msinger
Lots of smiles on the #Nuggets bench as Denver momentarily takes hold of the No. 5 seed and inches the Lakers closer to the offseason.
Denver 129, Los Angeles 118.
Joker with a cool 38/18/6. – 6:10 PM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
The LeBron-less Lakers had too many costly mistakes – poorly-timed turnovers, ill-advised fouls, missed open 3s and blown layups – to beat a solid Denver team that got a great game out of their MVP, Nikola Jokic (38p 18r 6a). Lakers lose 129-118 to fall to 31-47. Four games left – 6:10 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
FINAL: Nuggets 129, Lakers 118.
The Lakers aren’t officially eliminated yet, but we’re getting pretty close. Davis with 28-9-8, Russ with 27-10-7. No matter. Nikola Jokic dominates with 38 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists. – 6:10 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
The Joker turnovers tonight were closer to Harden/Luka/Trae turnovers where he has a high number but the rest of the team has a simplified palette because of it. – 6:08 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Just no answer for Jokic. Think it’s a mistake to let Melo guard him in these late possessions, but maybe it doesn’t matter so much with Davis losing some steam here. – 6:04 PM

Adam Mares @Adam_Mares
Jokic is a great post up defender and he has done a great job on AD down the stretch but the Nuggets haven’t been able to grab the rebound when he contests. – 6:02 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Joker up to 33-15-6-3-2 – 5:58 PM

Micah Adams @MicahAdams13
Average every MVP season in NBA history and you get 43.8 combined points, rebounds and assists per game.
There are SIX players doing it this season, tied for the most ever.
Giannis. Jokic. Embiid. LeBron. Durant. Doncic.
Just an absurd collection of top shelf talent. – 5:57 PM

Duvalier Johnson @DuvalierJohnson
Doris Burke is pushing HARD for the Nikola Jokic MVP case and it just dawned on me —
All of my homies love Doris Burke. – 5:48 PM

Austin Krell @NBAKrell
I love Doris Burke, but this “people don’t know who Jokic is” plea is so disingenuous.
The guy is the reigning MVP and you can’t go 10 tweets deep into NBA Twitter w/o being inundated w/ advanced stats about how his defense is actually great.
People know who he is. – 5:36 PM

Michael Singer @msinger
Not often Joker shows emotion. He buried that 3-pointer then ran back towards Denver’s bench screaming.
Cool 29 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 6 TOs with 1:15 left in the third. – 5:27 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Turns out defending MVP Nikola Jokic is good. He’s up to 29 points on 12 for 19 shooting with 1:15 left in the third quarter. Davis looked frustrated after Jokic made the last jumper over him. He’s also got 15 rebounds. – 5:27 PM

Duvalier Johnson @DuvalierJohnson
Miserable half of basketball and Nuggets still go into the break with a 62-61 lead over the Lakers.
Gordon is up to 18 points and Jokic has 14 pts and 11 rebs
If you’re Coach Malone, whats your message to the team? – 4:53 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Nikola Jokic with a 14-point, 11-rebound 1st half, but also three fouls and five turnovers. Definitely hasn’t controlled the game like he usually does. Huge 18-point half for Aaron Gordon who stays red-hot with his jumper. – 4:51 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Halftime rotations for the Nuggets as they lead the Lakers 62-61:
-Joker with 5 turnovers in 1Q, much better in 2Q but bad on defense outside of rebounding
-AG was awesome. Flat out great
-Barton with 6 points in final 8 seconds of half. Maybe he gets going?
-Bad basketball pic.twitter.com/yMnLgJiLjj – 4:50 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Russ gets Jokic on his heels and scores a layup over him, does some talking to the crowd. He’s 6 for 8 with 12 points and 4 assists, showing a lot of burst. – 4:43 PM

Michael Singer @msinger
After the debacle from last game, those were huge Boogie minutes. Eight points in eight minutes to spell Joker. – 4:31 PM

Vinny Benedetto @VBenedetto
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Michael Malone says on the use of zone during his interview with the ESPN broadcast. Nuggets had Jokic and JaMychal Green pick up two fouls on a day Denver’s without Jeff Green. – 4:20 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Nuggets have lost their composure way too often over the last couple of weeks. Unnecessary technicals (Jokic, Cousins, Green), too much fouling and bitching at the officials, bad turnovers, lack of focus defensively. – 4:10 PM

Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Anthony Davis has played in only 39 games this season, but he did outplay Joel Embiid in late January, going for 31 points, 12 boards and 4 blocks with 2 steals.
Today against Jokic, AD’s off to a good start, with 12 points on 5 of 9 FG’s, w/2 boards and a block in 8 minutes. – 4:09 PM

Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
In the 2020 Western Finals, LAL did as good a job on Nikola Jokic as anybody has, using Howard and Davis, with help from LeBron and digging-down guards like Caruso/KCP/Green.
Jokic averaged: 21.8 ppg (54%), 7.2 reb., 5.0 apg.
Jokic this season: 26.6 ppg (58%), 10.3 rpg, 6.2 apg – 4:04 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Quite a sequence from Anthony Davis: he swipes at the ball in Jokic’s hands, comes up with it, takes it up the court, goes off the dribble against Jokic and hits a tough runner, and-1. Makes the free throw, plus a technical free throw.
He’s got 12 points in just under 8 minutes. – 4:04 PM

Michael Singer @msinger
JaMychal Green just picked up a tech. Joker (already with 5 turnovers) just picked up his second foul. Nuggets already with seven turnovers. – 4:03 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Four turnovers for Nikola Jokic in his first six minutes today. – 4:00 PM

Vinny Benedetto @VBenedetto
Nikola Jokic has all 5 of Denver’s points in the first 4:30. Lakers out to a 12-5 lead. – 3:54 PM

Michael Singer @msinger
Really sloppy start for the #Nuggets, who turn it over three times in fives minutes. Joker’s not sharp, but Denver clearly trying to feed him inside. Dwight can’t slow him down. – 3:53 PM

Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Good start from LeBron-less LAL today, as they lead Denver 12-5, led by @Anthony Davis.
AD has a pair of dunks towards 6 points, plus some good defense on Jokic, including a big swat near the rim. – 3:53 PM