Jokic’s attitude was neither a deception nor a way to deflect pressure. It was, in fact, the reason he had become the NBA’s biggest surprise.

He had looked nothing like a professional center during his teenage years in Serbia. "He will tell you he was a young fat point guard growing up,’’ said Malone. And so now it was as if he was playing with house money. Jokic insisted on the morning of his biggest game that he would not feel pressure later that night.

"Pressure is just bad things for you,’’ he said. "You just need to go and -- I’m telling you -- every game is (like) the game of pickup basketball in my hometown. You need to go with that mentality and play the game. No pressure. Yes, you need to do something. But it’s just a game.’’

He had always approached basketball from this nothing-to-lose, everything-to-gain point of view. "My dad is not really a relaxed guy,’’ Jokic said for the sake of comparison. "He’s nervous. He wants to do everything. But I am completely opposite to him. I am calm.’’

In which case he must have driven his father crazy. "Yes, oh my god,’’ said Jokic with laughing exasperation. "Thousand times, even one million times - even now. I drive him crazy right now because I am so calm and nothing can touch me.’’

He was recalling the many times when his father would try to make him approach basketball more seriously. "He would say, 'How you can be that calm? Look at that!’’’ said Jokic. "And I have two brothers, they have a really bad temper, they’re also nervous and all that.’’

They would think that their younger brother didn’t care as much as they did. "Probably, probably,’’ agreed Jokic, even though he knew that they were wrong. There is no way that Jokic could create so many beautiful plays of ingenuity without reaching deeply into his imagination to make them so.

Coach Michael Malone (right) knows criticism will eventually find its way to the talented Nikola Jokic.

As a rookie last year, when he found himself on the court with Tim Duncan for the first time, he had to convince himself that he belonged in the NBA. "I mean, I really like Tim Duncan, and when I play against him that’s really a big deal for me,’’ Jokic said. "Then you step on the floor. If you think that he has achieved something, or he was something, or he wants something, then you are not going to be good in that game. You cannot think about him. You have to think about yourself. You just need to go there and play your game your normal game.’’

He has turned the corner. He does not see the game from the point of view his more famous opponents. All that matters to Jokic now is his own unique vision and the desire to fulfill his imagination.

He is that rare young talent who does not make the game more complicated than it needs to be. He has succeeded, so far, in getting out of his own way.

Nurkic's revenge against Denver

By the second quarter of this game on Tuesday, Nurkic was taking it to him. At halftime, Nurkic led all scorers with 21 points to go with eight rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and no turnovers. Jokic, by comparison, had 11 points, five rebounds and three turnovers -- but he also had generated five assists to keep his team within 66-64 of the hometown Blazers.

Afterward, Lillard’s teammates would explain why they had entered the game with great confidence in their new teammate Nurkic. "He's had this game circled since he got here,’’ said C.J. McCollum, who would lead all scorers with 38 points.

"Last night he actually reached out to me and said, 'I need you tomorrow,’’’ said Lillard, who added 19 points and seven assists. "He really wanted to win this game.’’

Nurkic, 22, had learned the secret of elevating his game when his team needed it most. Which, in turn, will be the standard by which Jokic will be judged someday.

Grounded without an ego

"Do you dream about basketball in your sleep?’’ Jokic was asked on the morning of the biggest game.

"No, no,’’ he said, smiling. "To be honest, I have bad dream last night. My last dream was bad dream. Some guy -- actually two guys are chasing me and beating me. It was not good dream.’’

The pressure on players -- as generated by the fans, at least -- is much greater in Europe than in the NBA, said Jokic. Most NBA players with European experience would not argue with this point. The fans of Serbia, Greece, Turkey and other European leagues are more passionate and demanding than NBA fans.

That point of view changes in the playoffs, however. The internal pressures tend to be magnified tremendously by the NBA postseason. But that lesson has not been passed onto Jokic as yet.

"To be honest, everybody told me the playoffs is just fine,’’ Jokic said. "It’s just playing the games.’’ Asked whether he can imagine feeling intimidated by the pressure of a deep playoff series, he said: "I don’t think that it is ever going to happen to me.’’

"Obviously with pressure comes a lot of that stuff where you start looking at things negatively,’’ said Miller, who provided Jokic with his nickname "The Joker.’’ "There hasn’t been anything negatively said about him. He hasn’t gone through that part of the league yet. He’s going to hit those things. Then it’s about who you have around you when you go through it. And I think he’s going to have the right people around him.’’

As Jokic continues to improve and push his team closer to contention, he will experience greater demands and criticism when he falls short.

"I think it’s a great question,’’ said Malone. "Right now he’s the feel-good story, and everybody loves Joker and what a great kid he is and how unselfish he is and all of the behind-the-back passes. But the criticism will come: Can he lead his team to the playoffs? Can he lead his team to wins in the playoffs? I think it’s those trials and tribulations and criticisms that build great players. He’s on his way, and I think that’s going to be part of his journey, part of his process.

"Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas -- every great player has to go through it. I coached LeBron for five years, LeBron went through it. At some point Nikola is going to be criticized, and he’s going to have to face adversity. Right now this is year two for him and no one picked us to make the playoffs. In the future it’s going to be, OK, enough feel-good. We want results. I think he’s grounded, he’s got no ego, he comes into work every day and he doesn’t let all the outside noise affect him. And when that time comes where he is being criticized and facing that adversity, I think he’s going to handle it well because of where he’s from, his family background, and his mental toughness.’’

The point that Malone was making was that the criticism can’t come soon enough. The Nuggets will want their Joker to turn the corner into contention as quickly as possible.

"No doubt,’’ said Malone. "Because once that days happens, that means we’re on the precipice of doing something great. We have some really good players on this team, but he is the face of this franchise. He is our future. And it’s exciting to see where he’s going to take us.’’

Not fearing adversity

In the visitors lockerroom late Tuesday night, Jokic stood up to leave without realizing that several reporters were waiting to speak with him. The modes of leadership were still new as he spun around to answer questions about the 122-113 loss that severely damaged the playoff hopes for his Nuggets.

"We tried our best, but we didn’t do anything,’’ said Jokic, who contributed 17 points, eight assists, eight rebounds and two blocks. "They wanted it more than us.’’ He stopped himself, thought about what he had said, and then nodded. "Yeah, they wanted it more than us.’’

How could a young center in his second year be criticized for generating a near-triple-double? And yet, in this matchup of old teammates, Jokic had been outperformed. Nurkic, his former understudy, had played the game of his life: 33 points (12-for-15 from the field), 16 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and several standing ovations as the Blazers generated 16 offensive rebounds and 28 second-chance points. "Nurkic obviously kicked our a**,’’ said Malone. "You can’t go on the road and get your a** kicked on the glass like that and give out 28 points.’’

Jokic had embraced Nurkic on the court after the game. "I expected it,’’ said Jokic of his opponent’s enhanced performance. "We all expected it because I know his temper. I knew that he was going to be aggressive and try to have the game of his life.’’

The feel-good story was already beginning to change, and there was nothing wrong with that. Adversity is not to be feared. In a way that would probably make Jokic smile, he was starting to realize that becoming a subject of criticism, for a young man of such overwhelming potential, is going to be the next goal.

Ian Thomsen has covered the NBA since 2000. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here or follow him on Twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.