01/30/26 03:07:00
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01/30 15:05 CST Nuggets' Nikola Jokic listed as questionable and could return
from knee injury vs. Clippers
Nuggets' Nikola Jokic listed as questionable and could return from knee injury
vs. Clippers
By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer
DENVER (AP) --- Nikola Jokic is listed as questionable on the injury report for
Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers, setting up the
possibility the Denver Nuggets center plays for the first time since suffering
a knee injury on Dec. 29.
Jokic has missed 16 games since limping off the floor just before halftime at
Miami. He was diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee, with the Nuggets saying
at the time the three-time NBA MVP would be re-evaluated in four weeks. ESPN
first reported the plan for Jokic to play Friday.
The knee injury interrupted one of Jokic's finest seasons. He's averaging 29.6
points, 12.2 rebounds and 11 assists while shooting a career-best 43.5% from
3-point range.
His return Friday would help keep him eligible for major individual NBA awards
this season. Should he play all the remaining games, he would finish with 66.
He needs to appear in 65 of Denver's 82 games to be eligible for most awards
like MVP and All-NBA.
The 30-year-old Jokic has finished first or second in the MVP balloting in each
of the last five seasons.
Jokic was hurt against the Heat when teammate Spencer Jones stepped on his left
foot. The center from Serbia fell to the floor and grabbed at his knee before
limping toward the locker room.
Denver has gone 10-6 in his absence.
Jokic's return would be a boost for a Nuggets team that just lost Aaron Gordon
after the high-flying forward reinjured his right hamstring. Gordon is expected
to be out at least a month. Christian Braun (left ankle) and Cameron Johnson
(right knee) remain sidelined.
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