Nuggets HC Michael Malone on Nikola Jokic’s Knee Injury: ‘I Don’t Think It’s Anything Too Too Serious’

Nikola Jokic was well on his way to a continuing one his MVP performances in the first half of the Denver Nuggets’ road contest against the Utah Jazz, finishing with 24 points and 6 rebounds and 6 assists in only 15 minutes. Unfortunately, his night ended early with a right knee contusion suffered late in the first half.

The reigning NBA MVP went down after knocking knees with Jazz center Rudy Gobert with 1:54 remaining in the second quarter. Jokic warmed up to play in the second half, but Nuggets head coach shut him down for the night.

Malone then discussed what happened in warm ups and what transpired after the game:

“I went up to Nikola as he was warming up at half time and asked him ‘How does it feel?’ He said, ‘It feels a little weak,’ so I just shut him down,” said Malone when he met with the media postgame.

“He’s far too important for this team for us to risk him being out there if he’s not feeling confident about it,” Malone added.

Nuggets teammate Monte Morris reportedly said, per the Denver Post’s Mike Singer, that Jokic “said he think he’s fine.”

Jokic has a few days to rest the knee before the Nuggets play the Dallas Mavericks at home on Friday night.