By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]

After a victorious attempt to close out the 2024 NBA Christmas Games and help the Phoenix Suns defeat the Denver Nuggets at the Footprint Center, Kevin Durant praised Nikola Jokic.

In a postgame interview with ESPN, he responded to a question about himself while LeBron James and Stephen Curry highlighted the NBA’s Christmas schedule.

“Tonight you see Jokic. They see a Hall of Famer, an icon in Russell (Westbrook) tonight. You’ll see great young players all over the league tonight.” He pointed to opponents on the Nuggets roster and further added to the original list: “It was a great day for basketball. I am grateful that I was able to play on this great day.”

“They are a physical team. In Jokic they have acquired arguably the best player in the world, the top 10 player of all time.” The 36-year-old combo forward described the biggest challenges in defeating the Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Constant clashes with the Joker have spread in recent years from the North American-based league to famous clashes between the United States and Serbia at the international level, including the 2024 Olympics.

In his last Christmas appearance, Durant shared a game-high 27 points with teammate Bradley Beal. On the wrong side, Jokic posted a double-double with 25 points and 15 rebounds.

After improving to 15-14 and forcing the Nuggets to 16-12 in the 2024-25 NBA regular season, the Suns host the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night, shortly after an injury setback for Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic.

Photo credit: FIBA

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