The Joker is wild again, thank God. And he did.

“I really think that the one from upstairs is protecting me, and he knows that I did everything how it’s supposed to be. I was just hoping that he protected me,’’ Nikola Jokic said Friday night.

The Serbian superstar surprisingly started his first game in a month and set yet another record with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists while playing 25 or fewer minutes in a game. Jokic scored 31 points in just 25 minutes against the surging Clippers and also finished (less than half a game) with 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 behind-the-back and beyond-basketball-belief passes.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, be very afraid at The Ball Sunday night. The real NBA MVP and best player in the whole wide world has come baaaaaaack!

The Broncos won’t win the championship because of a broken ankle and a wounded knee and a regrettable call, but the MacKinnon-Makar and the Jokic-Murray dynamic duos definitely can do.

The Astonishing Avalanche, first in the NHL with 36 victories, shut out the villainous Red Wings on Saturday, and the Lightning Nuggets will rain on the Thunder Sunday night and rank third in the NBA with 34 victories.

According to erroneous reports two days ago, the Nuggets’ rehabbing BIG MAN would remain on the injured list for another week before being reexamined. Those dupes didn’t comprehend The Joker’s resilience, recovery, resolve and relationship with someone up there.

Nikola was tired of sitting, staring, supporting and decided to get up and get on the court earlier than anticipated, and the Clippers were the sufferers. Jokic loves beating Los Angeles teams.

Rather than being officially listed as “out” Friday, Nikola was termed “questionable” for the first time since injuring his knee just before halftime in a Dec. 29 game in Miami. Jokic’s and the Nuggets’ season seemed to go up in smoke against the Heat with the possibility of a torn ACL then. But the diagnosis was bone bruise, and Joker would miss 16 games.

Jokic shocked a throng of 20,016 and especially the Clippers when he played Friday night.

The jocular Joker grabbed his first rebound 17 seconds into the action, recorded his first assist five seconds later and scored on a tip-in at 9:41, then soon added a successful hook shot and a 25-foot jumper for three.

The three-time MVP (who should have been chosen for the past five) was alive and, well, well. He didn’t favor the right leg (covered in a black legging to match the team’s black rainbow uniforms), but he did favor the crowd and his mates.

Later in the game a youngster kept waving at Jokic, who was sitting on the bench. Jokic gave the boy a wave back.

All the Clippers could do on defense was wave at Mr. Basketball as he converted 8 of 11 field goals, including 2 of 3 three-pointers, and pull down a dozen rebounds and dished dimes five times. He outscored and outrebounded Kawhi Leonard (21 and 3) and James Harden (25 and 5) and, wow, the entire Clippers bench (27 points and 11 rebounds).

The Clippers, 6.5-point favorites on the Nuggets’ home floor, recently have been the league’s most blistering bunch, winning nine of 10 games before bowing to the Nuggets 122-109. The Nuggets have now won seven of their last 10.

The NBA’s most superior offensive pair in the league, Jokic and Jamal Murray, were reunited and combined for 51-16-14. Both will be All-Star game participants.

Finally.

Jokic was this close to not being eligible for the Michael Jordan Trophy with fewer than 65 games played. The Joker had surpassed defending MVP Gilgeous-Alexander before the injury. SGA is, of course, the current overwhelming choice. But, despite the “Joel Embiid Rule’’ Jokic could qualify if he appears in all but one game the rest of the season.

The Joker and SGA duel for the first time this season Sunday. They will meet again once in February, March and April – and likely as 1-2 seeds in May or June.

Gilgeous-Alexander leads the league in scoring (32.0), but Jokic is fifth at 29.7 and No. 1 in rebounding (12.2) and assists (10.8). SGA no longer runs away.

The confrontation, that could be a preview of the conference finals, obviously belongs on an NBA telecast in prime time (7:30 p.m.) Sunday. ESPN analytics gives OKC a 66.3 percent chance of winning.

But analysts didn’t get the memo. The Joker is back and wild, riled, waving to a child and has a protector who is heavenly beguiled.