Nikola Jokic Praises Kevin Durant After Nuggets' Win vs. Rockets

The Denver Nuggets picked up a huge 128-125 win over the Houston Rockets on Monday night, led by an incredible Nikola Jokic performance. The three-time MVP dropped 39 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists on 13-27 shooting from the field, but after the game, he still recognized the greatness of Rockets star Kevin Durant.

"He needs so little time, so little space. He had a big three at the end of [regulation]. He needs so little time. I mean, he's an amazing scorer. He's an amazing player. A legendary player. You're trying to make someone else beat you in that moment," Jokic said about Durant.

Jokic gives KD his flowers

Dec 15, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the second quarter at Ball Arena. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

In the Houston loss, Durant finished with 25 points, five rebounds, and seven assists on 8-14 shooting from the field and 2-3 from three-point range.

Jokic references Durant's clutch three-pointer at the end of the fourth quarter, as he knocked down a contested shot from deep to tie the game with just 36 seconds left, ultimately helping the Rockets force overtime.

At 37 years old, Durant continues to play at an elite level, averaging 24.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game with 50.1/40.4/89.1 shooting splits in his debut season with the Rockets. Jokic and the Nuggets have now taken down the Rockets in both of their matchups this season, making a statement against another Western Conference contender.

Durant comments on Jokic's performance

After the game, Durant talked about how the Rockets attempted to slow down Jokic,

"I mean, he gets the ball every play. You know what I'm saying? You can't do nothing different against him. He's 13 of 27. I mean, he's usually a 60% shooter. He also had four turnovers and fouled out. So we attacked him, we made him miss as much as he's gonna miss, and we made him turn the ball over," Durant said.

"But somebody all game, every game... of course he's going to get numbers. That's the name of the game. But he wasn't as efficient as he usually is, even though he was still great tonight. But we can still win with him scoring 39, 40 points. You've seen that before."

There is certainly some mutual respect between the two NBA legends, even though Durant brushed off Jokic's performance by saying he puts those numbers up because he has the ball in his hands so much.

Jokic gives KD his flowers

Durant comments on Jokic's performance

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