Nikola Jokic outshone fellow Most Valuable Player contender Victor Wembanyama with a game-high 40 points as the Denver Nuggets ended the San Antonio Spurs’ 11-match winning streak.
Serb Jokic, a three-time winner of the NBA’s MVP award, starred as Denver recorded their eighth straight win with a 136-134 triumph in overtime.
Wembanyama led San Antonio with 34 points but the Frenchman’s team squandered a 107-96 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Both players are among the leading names to claim this season’s coveted individual award, given to the best performer during the regular season, and were full of praise for the other after the match.
Jokic said of Wembanyama to ESPN: “I think the first time I played against him, I told you guys he’s going to change the league. He’s going to change basketball.
“I still think that. And I think he has an opportunity, a chance to be the most unique basketball player to ever play the game.”
Reflecting on defeat, Wembanyama said: “I think it was an amazing game. One of the most fun games. I wish we could have closed it out.
“It was a real test against a team that’s playing for something right now. They’ve got the best offensive player in the world.”
Both teams have already clinched a place in the post-season play-offs, which begin on 18 April.
But while San Antonio are assured of a top-two seeding in the Western Conference – they trail reigning champions Oklahoma City Thunder – Denver’s final placing within the top six is still to be decided.
The Thunder can move closer to a third straight Western Conference title against the Utah Jazz on Sunday, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seeks back-to-back MVP crowns.
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic could be out of MVP contention after the NBA’s leading scorer was ruled out for the rest of the regular season with a hamstring injury on Friday.
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