Nikola Jokic believes his main rival for a third-straight NBA MVP award, Joel Embiid, will "be remembered as one of the most dominant players in the league."
The clash between the Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers had been billed as the league's two leading players facing off, only for the Sixers to rest Embiid due to a calf injury.
Jokic led Denver to a 116-111 victory on Monday, scoring 25 points with 17 rebounds and 12 assists, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to produce 10 games of at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in the same season.
With James Harden also out, Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 29 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, but the main talking point after the game remained Embiid, with Jokic reserving words of praise for his rival.
"I think he's a great player," he said. "I think he's gonna be remembered as one of the most dominant players in the league. The guy's a beast, and he's so talented.
"He can affect [the game] many ways on the floor. He can post up, he can face up, he can shoot threes. He can defend really well. He can, in some situations, guard one through five. So he's a really, really good player."
Embiid leads the league for points-per-game this season (33.3), ahead of Luka Doncic (32.9), Damian Lillard (32.2), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.3) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (31.1).
Sixers coach Doc Rivers said prior to the game he was tired of the animosity brought about by the debate around this year's MVP award, with Jokic having won it the last two seasons and having had another stellar year for the Nuggets.
"It's like we can't celebrate people," Rivers said. "The league is in a great place. It's in an amazing place.
"You've got Joel Embiid and Joker, two centers, in a non-center league, dominating the league. You've got Giannis, and I always put him as a whatever, because we don't know what [position] Giannis is, but he's one of the best players in the league. Jayson Tatum is playing unbelievable. Kevin Durant, if he wasn't hurt. You can just keep going.
"You can like them all, and you can actually not like one because you love the other one. But you don't have to hate on anybody. I think we just need to get back to judging whatever your flavour is, and I don't think you have to hate the other one, for sure."
Heat rally in fourth quarter to even NBA Finals at 1-1
Gabe Vincent scored 23 points and helped spark a fourth-quarter rally that propelled the Miami Heat to a 111-108 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, evening the championship series at 1-1.
The Heat overcame an eight-point deficit to start the fourth quarter to snap the Nuggets' seven-game winning streak and send the series to Miami all tied. Game 3 will take place Wednesday.
Denver also was handed its first loss in 10 home games during this postseason despite another big effort from two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, who poured in 41 points on 16-of-28 shooting along with 11 rebounds.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each contributed 21 points for the Heat, while Duncan Robinson scored all 10 of his points during a pivotal 15-2 run to open the fourth quarter that sent Miami ahead to stay.
Jokic scored the final six points of the third quarter to give the Nuggets an 83-75 lead that turned out to be short-lived. Robinson had the first eight points of Miami's momentum-shifting surge, and Vincent later added a 3-pointer before hitting two free throws that put the Heat up 90-85 with nine minutes remaining.
Miami held a 107-95 advantage after Caleb Martin's 3-pointer with 3:39 left to play, but the Nuggets responded with a late charge to put the outcome back in doubt.
Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray hit 3-pointers to ignite an 11-2 run Murray capped with another triple that pulled Denver within 109-106 entering the final minute.
After Jokic countered two Butler free throws with a short turnaround jumper with 35.6 seconds left, Butler missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to give the Nuggets a chance to tie.
Murray misfired on a step-back 3-point try with 1.9 seconds left, however, and Martin grabbed the rebound as time expired.
Denver, which led by as many as 15 points in the first half, had been 11-0 this postseason when holding a double-digit lead.
Miami Heat rally late against Denver Nuggets to even NBA finals series
The Miami Heat produced a fourth-quarter comeback to win the second game of the NBA finals 111-108 and even up the seven-match series against the Denver Nuggets.
The Heat trailed by eight heading into the final period, having trailed by 15 earlier in the game in the wake of another massive performance from Nikola Jokic.
Jokic scored 41 points, scoring 16 of 28 shots from the floor including one with 36 seconds remaining which cut the Heat’s lead to three points.
But after Jimmy Butler missed on Miami’s next possession, Jamal Murray was unable to tie the scores with an effort on the buzzer.
The defeat was Denver’s first since May 7 and they had won all 11 play-off games in which they had opened a double-digit lead.
They had trailed 21-10 in the opening quarter before a barrage of three-point scores helped them to a 44-32 advantage which had been trimmed to six points at the break.
And Miami held on through the third quarter before the late surge that takes the series to Miami all square.
Gabe Vincent led the way for Miami with 23 points as Butler and Bam Adebayo each grabbed 21.
Milan 3-1 Hellas Verona: Leao double condemns visitors to Serie A relegation play-off
Milan signed off the Serie A season with a 3-1 victory as Rafael Leao's double condemned Hellas Verona to a relegation play-off with Spezia.
The Rossoneri wrapped up a frustrating campaign on a winning note at San Siro, with a late Leao brace enough to seal three points.
Milan had already secured Champions League football for another term but struggled at times against the visitors, who cancelled out Olivier Giroud's first-half penalty through Marco Faraoni's 72nd-minute strike.
Yet Leao struck in the 85th minute and again seven minutes later, leaving Verona to face a relegation decider with Spezia, who succumbed to a late 2-1 loss at Roma.
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