On Thursday evening, the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers (in California) by a score of 112-105.
The Nuggets now have a 3-0 lead in the series, and have defeated the Lakers in their last 11 matchups.
After the game, two-time MVP Nikola Jokic met with the media, and one of his quotes is going viral on social media.
Jokic said: “Winning is a lifestyle for us. It’s really good when you’re winning. Especially when you win a lot of games, everybody is happy, everybody wants to play, everybody is buying into the system. Winning, I think it’s a lifestyle. I was hear when we were losing, so I don’t want to go back to that.”
Jokic finished his night with 24 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists and one steal while shooting 9/13 from the field and 0/1 from the three-point range in 39 minutes of playing time.
During the game, Nikola Jokic made NBA history by moving up on several all-time lists.
Jokic moved ahead of Derek Harper (513) and Mike Conley (521) for 56th on the all-time playoff assists list.
In addition, he moved ahead of Gus Williams (1,929) and seven-time NBA Champion Robert Horry (1,939) for 68th on the all-time playoff scoring list.
Four out five starters for the Nuggets scored 20+ points (Aaron Gordon led the way with 29).
Jokic will have an excellent chance to win his third MVP Award, as he averaged an outstanding 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 1.4 steals per contest while shooting 58.3% from the field and 35.9% from the three-point range during the regular season.
Last season, the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals and defeated the Miami Heat to win the 2023 NBA Championship.
Jokic is in his ninth season in the league and has established himself among the greatest players of all time.
As for the Lakers, they have lost each of their last ten matchups with the Nuggets (dating back to the 2022-23 season).
Game 4 of the series will be on Saturday evening (also in Los Angeles).
Whoever wins the series will play either the Suns or Timberwolves in the second round