Nikola Jokic proves once again he’s the best player in the world

It’s been only ten games but the NBA MVP race is over. Nikola Jokić has done it again, his performance Sunday night proves it. Jokić recorded his fourth straight triple-double as the Denver Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks 122-120. Jokić finished the game with a jaw-dropping 37 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists.

The reigning MVP is looking to make it two in a row and four of the last five this season. If named MVP, Jokić will join an exclusive club with LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell as the only players in NBA history to win four or more MVPs. Through ten games it’s looking like Jokić will join those legends. He’s averaging 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 11.7 assists per game

Somehow, Jokić’s 37 points didn’t lead all scorers. Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving scored 43 points on 17-of-22 shooting, keeping Dallas in the game until the final buzzer. The biggest lead of the game was 10 points, achieved by the Nuggets in the first quarter, and a back-and-forth game ended with a Kyrie Irving missed three-pointer and a Daniel Gafford missed putback.

It wasn’t just the Jokić and Irving show. Mavericks guard Luka Dončić added 24 points for Dallas, and was a rebound and an assist away from a triple-double of his own. Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. finished with 17 points, including the game-winning floater with six seconds left.

The Nuggets’ win keeps them a game back of the three-way tie atop the Western Conference between the Phoneix Suns, Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors.