Nikola Jokic notched a career-best 19 assists for the Denver Nuggets against the Indiana Pacers, drawing praise from coach Michael Malone.
Michael Malone lauded Nikola Jokic's "incredible" display in the Denver Nuggets' 126-116 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Jokic ended with a career-best 19 assists, while also adding 18 points and nine rebounds, helping the Nuggets improve to 38-20 this season.
Indeed, Denver's win marked Jokic's 28th career game with at least 15 assists, the most by a non-guard in NBA history.
His final assist total was also tied for the second-most in a game by any center in the league's history, with only Wilt Chamberlain (21) posting more in a single game back in 1968 against the Detroit Pistons.
"The guy is just an amazing, complete basketball player," Malone said.
"And I think the most remarkable thing is not just 19 assists, but the satisfaction and joy that Nikola gets from making his teammates better.
"And he'd be happy getting 19 assists ... and us winning [more] than any other superstar that I've ever come across."
The result saw Denver bounce back from their 123-100 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers last time out, a loss that saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end.
Malone used a balanced attack to bounce back from their last defeat, but conceded that Jokic was once again the star of the show for the Nuggets.
"He's a humble person and understands that this whole thing is always much bigger than the individual," Malone said. "It's the collective. But 19? ... What is that?
"He's just an incredible player.
"And what a luxury to have when you can just play through him down the stretch of a close game, and you know something good is going to happen each and every time."
Michael Porter Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Christian Braun added 17 points and Jamal Murray scored 16 for Denver.
Myles Turner led Indiana with 23 points. Tyrese Haliburton had 19 points and 15 assists, Pascal Siakam scored 19 points and Aaron Nesmith 17.
"Obviously, Nikola is not a guy in the league that you would say is an elite defender, but he's one of the highest IQ guys in the league," Haliburton said.
"And I thought he did a great job in the pick-and-roll making me have to make different reads."