{"id":702965,"date":"2026-04-07T09:02:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702965\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T09:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:02:17","slug":"jokic-leads-nuggets-comeback-to-clinch-3rd-seed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/702965\/","title":{"rendered":"Jokic leads Nuggets&#8217; comeback to clinch 3rd seed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"submission-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Denver%2C+CO&amp;city=Denver&amp;type=Update+Existing+Story&amp;headline=Jokic+leads+Nuggets%27+comeback+to+clinch+3rd+seed&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fco%2Fdenver%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F07%2Fjokic-leads-nuggets-comeback-to-clinch-3rd-seed%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69d4b35004f1d.jpg\" alt=\"A cubist, geometric painting depicting a basketball game broken down into sharp, overlapping planes of color, capturing the energy and movement of the sport.\" width=\"1344\" height=\"768\" class=\"news-image\"\/>Nuggets star Nikola Jokic&#8217;s heroic fourth-quarter performance leads his team to a dramatic comeback victory over a division rival.Denver Today<\/p>\n<p>Nuggets star Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double with 35 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists, leading his team to a come-from-behind victory over the Blazers that secured Denver the 3rd seed in the Western Conference playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>      Why it matters<\/p>\n<p>The Nuggets&#8217; dramatic comeback win over a division rival solidifies their position in the upper echelon of the West, setting them up for a potentially deep postseason run. Jokic&#8217;s MVP-caliber performance underscores his value as the team&#8217;s centerpiece.<\/p>\n<p>            The details<\/p>\n<p>Down by 16 points early in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets mounted a furious rally led by Jokic. The Serbian big man scored 15 of his 35 points in the final frame, adding 6 rebounds and 4 assists to complete the triple-double and will the team to victory.<\/p>\n<p>      The Nuggets trailed the Blazers by 16 points early in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n<p>        The players<\/p>\n<p>        Nikola Jokic<\/p>\n<p>The Nuggets&#8217; star center and 2-time NBA MVP, who led the team&#8217;s comeback with a dominant triple-double performance.<\/p>\n<p>Denver Nuggets<\/p>\n<p>The NBA team that rallied from a large fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers and clinch the 3rd seed in the Western Conference playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>Portland Trail Blazers<\/p>\n<p>The Nuggets&#8217; division rival that held a substantial lead late in the game before ultimately falling to Denver&#8217;s comeback effort.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Denver%2C+CO&amp;city=Denver&amp;type=Upload+Story+Photos&amp;headline=Jokic+leads+Nuggets%27+comeback+to+clinch+3rd+seed&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fco%2Fdenver%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F07%2Fjokic-leads-nuggets-comeback-to-clinch-3rd-seed%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a><br \/>\n            What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-quote\">\u201cNikola just willed us to this win. He&#8217;s the best player in the league and showed it tonight when we needed him most.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-cite\">\u2014 Michael Malone, Nuggets Head Coach<\/p>\n<p>            What\u2019s next<\/p>\n<p>The Nuggets will await their first-round playoff opponent, while the Blazers will look to regroup and secure a postseason berth in the final games of the regular season.<\/p>\n<p>        The takeaway<\/p>\n<p>Jokic&#8217;s heroics in leading the Nuggets&#8217; dramatic comeback underscores his status as one of the NBA&#8217;s premier superstars and cements Denver as a legitimate title contender in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a Nuggets star Nikola Jokic&#8217;s heroic fourth-quarter performance leads his team&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":702966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[7,301,187,3943,6,302],"class_list":{"0":"post-702965","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-nuggets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-denver","10":"tag-denver-nuggets","11":"tag-denvernuggets","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-nuggets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116362619298906483","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}