The Kings lost to the Nuggets 106-113, but it wasn't Jokic who killed them. Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray took over and scored 55 points to defeat Hector and his teammates. To beat them, Porter's 30 and Murray's 25 overcame a 20-point deficit.
Hector limited Jokic, but that didn't stop him from being one rebound away from the triple-double, but when Murray and Porter get into it, they're hard to beat.
But it doesn't matter because they face each other again the next day, still in Sacramento. Kings fans have always been loyal in defeat but are even more numerous in victory. With the beam and the wins, a popular fervor has formed, and all Kings home games are always at 100% attendance.
Nikola Jokic is a legitimate MVP candidate. He has already been MVP twice and is fighting for the third in a row. Hector Herrera is in the top 10 of the MVP rankings, he passed a milestone this season, and this season's Sacramento Kings are not a team to joke with.
The Nuggets dictated the game's tempo early on with a 17-5 lead. Nikola Jokic already has 8 points. The Kings were clumsy at the start of the game, and Hector decided to come out of his den. Two mid-range shots on picks and roll with De'Aaron Fox. The system turned Hector's shot into a dagger. Hector's precision is no coincidence.
Nikola Jokic is Nikola Jokic. If he doesn't score, he will delight his teammates. With two assists from Jokic later and two free throws from Hector, then an assist for Huerter, the score is 24-17 for the Nuggets. Holmes then replaced Hector.
He came back, but the Kings finished the first quarter trailing by 16 points. 40-24 for the Nuggets.
Kings trio Hector Herrera, Malik Monk, and De'Aaron Fox will have a great game. The duel at the top between Herrera and Jokic will keep its promises. De'Aaron Fox will score five straight points, but the Nuggets are not a favorite team for nothing.
The Kings are trying to close the gap, but the Nuggets are stable. Hector re-entered the field and made a layup on an assist from Fox. This will lead to the entry of Jokic. Today Jokic and Hector surrender blow after blow. When one scores, the other scores too, and one cannot stop the other.
Following two free throws by Malik Monk, the score was 60-44 for Denver. He followed up with a 3-point shot on an assist from Hector. But Jokic and Fox will score 4 points in a row each.
With 3:15 left to play before the end of the second quarter, the Kings' defense is absent today. Instead, the Nuggets have been incredibly effective since the beginning of the game. Jokic and the Nuggets will take advantage of missed shots from the Kings and widen the gap with seven consecutive points.
Malik Monk will stop the bleeding and, with the help of Hector and De'Aaron, will put the Kings under 20 points. Fox will put a mid-range shot on an assist from Monk. Hector will receive a pass from rookie Keegan Murray in the 3-point corner.
Hector will steal the ball from Jokic and will then pass the ball to Fox, which will conclude in a dunk, and then he will block a shot from Hyland. Fox recovered the ball and served Monk to 3-pointers at the buzzer.
That basket wrapped up the first half, and the Nuggets were ahead 75-62. Hector is having a good game now, but if the Nuggets start missing their shots, they can win in his conditions. But the Kings will live and die attacking.
The Kings have a long way to go to reach the Nuggets, just as Hector has a long way to go to get Jokic. But Hector likes this kind of fight. Defeating the weak is less pleasant than looking the strong in the eye. There are only two centers in his eyes; one is his opponent of the evening. And the other is in Philadelphia.
But now, the question is how to win this game.