INDIANAPOLIS — Nobody was treating the All-Star Game as a competitive event anyway, so Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic decided to use the opportunity for sitcom hi-jinx.
During layup lines before the game Sunday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Jokic was seen dunking on Western Conference teammate Steph Curry, whose back was to Jokic.
Turns out, the Nuggets center had a partner in crime.
“Did you see that?” Jokic said excitedly. “I need (video). I told Luka to move Steph a little closer to the basket.”
Jokic and Doncic — close friends from Serbia and Slovenia, respectively — were joking around together for the majority of their team’s 211-186 loss. On one possession, they went coast-to-coast passing back and forth to each other without letting the ball touch the ground.
“Luka’s terrible,” Jokic said. “He plays really bad.”
Jokic’s sixth All-Star Game was characterized by his sense of humor and chatty nature with his teammates. That hasn’t always been the case for the two-time MVP in a league of mostly English-speaking players.
Jokic high-fived everyone on the Western Conference bench whenever he checked out of the game. He turned to high-five East coach Doc Rivers as well after draining a corner 3-pointer in front of Rivers’ bench. He provoked a laugh from the crowd when he feigned a dunk in transition, laying it up instead. In the last two minutes, defenders cleared out to let him attempt dunks. When he slammed one home with his right hand, he and Karl Anthony-Towns flexed at each other.
“Actually yes, I feel much more comfortable,” Jokic said of the experience. “… I feel like I know everybody. And just to talk with them, not about this game, just to talk about basketball or whatever — it’s kind of cool to see different opinions, how people are thinking different. I think for me, it’s always good to be here.”
As for the poster on Curry, Jokic celebrated in front of the media when he was shown the video.
“I think he was really mad at me,” the NBA Finals MVP said sarcastically, “and he will not sleep today because of that.”
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