LILLE (France) - Nikola Jokic had it all set up to join the exclusive Olympics triple-double club. But Nikola Jovic's would-be history making layup rolled off the rim in a Serbia blowout of Puerto Rico.
Jokic had already moved into double figures in points and rebounds and was just waiting for his 10th assist to become the fourth player to achieve the accomplishment since 1976. The three-time NBA MVP grabbed a rebound and tossed ahead to Jovic but the youngster missed a layup with 1:55 minutes left in the third quarter.
Jokic came out with 30 seconds left in the period and Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic never subbed him back in for the final stanza, and the basketball world was left wanting for history.
Jokic, who has collected 148 career triple-doubles for the Denver Nuggets, finished with 14 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists to go with two steals and one block in 23 minutes of the 66-107 victory.
"We heard that he's on 9 assists, somebody shouted it from the stands. But trust me, he doesn't really care about this stuff," said Bogdan Bogdanovic about Jokic being just short of a triple-double.
"The whole world is used to it. Everybody knows what he can do," Serbia's Nikola Milutinov said about his fellow big man Jokic. "It's nothing new for him. All his life he has been doing that. It's nice to have him in the team and it's a big honor for us to share the court with him."
The three-time NBA MVP missed a chance of joining the Olympics triple-double list, which includes Sasha Belov of Soviet Union, United States star LeBron James and Luka Doncic of Slovenia.
Belov had 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists against Canada in 1976.
James tallied 11 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists versus Australia in 2012
Doncic had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 18 assists against France in 2021.
Jokic tallied 8 rebounds in the first quarter alone, the same number of boards that the Americas side grabbed in the period. The 29-year-old big man had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists at halftime.
Jokic picked up 20 points, five rebounds and eight assists in Serbia's Gameday 1 loss to United States.
FIBA