MIAMI (AP) — Denver star Nikola Jokic was having another brilliant game: 21 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the first half, with behind-the-back passes to set up scores and generally doing whatever he wanted.
Then came one misstep from a teammate with about three seconds left until halftime — and now, the Nuggets wait to see how bad the news might be.
Jokic limped off the court in Miami on Monday night, after appearing to hurt his left knee just before the intermission and going to the floor in obvious pain. He was not on the floor for the second half and the results of an MRI will determine what happens in the coming days and weeks.
“Immediately, he knew something was wrong," Nuggets coach David Adelman said after Denver's 147-123 loss. “Hey, this is part of the NBA. Anybody who gets hurt in this game, it's kind of gut-wrenching, especially somebody as special as he is. We'll find out more (Tuesday). We'll move on as a team. Obviously, right now, I'm more concerned just about him as a person and the disappointment of going through something like that.”
If Jokic misses any significant time, it would be a massive blow to Denver and in some respects to the entire NBA given how he's considered one of the game's absolute superstars. Even a one-month absence would mean about 16 games, which could have a serious impact on Denver's standing in the loaded Western Conference.
“Tonight my mind will wander,” Adelman said. “And it'll wander about what we have to do going forward if he is out for a while or for a long time.”
Jokic is a three-time MVP and certainly was in the early MVP conversation this season, having entered Monday averaging 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists — well on his way to a triple-double average for the second consecutive season.
“He's not just a big part of what we do, but almost everything that we do," Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said. “We just want to see him healthy and everybody in here is ready to step up.”
Jokic has also been remarkably durable. He has missed 36 games over the last five seasons; the Nuggets have gone 13-23 in those absences. He has played in all 32 of Denver's games this season.
“Hoping for the best,” Adelman said.
Jokic was alone under the basket and appeared to step forward to help Denver's Spencer Jones defend a drive by Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr. as time was about to expire in the second quarter. While backtracking, Jones stepped on Jokic's left foot and it seemed the center's knee buckled a bit.
Jokic collapsed to the court, grabbing at the knee. He was helped to his feet, then made his way to the locker room under his own power but with a pronounced limp. He was evaluated by doctors Monday night before leaving the arena and the Nuggets were scheduled to fly to Toronto on Tuesday for a game against the Raptors on Wednesday.
“It's just part of this process,” Adelman said. “You don't get definitive answers right after these things happen. I know he's an extremely special player that people want updates on right away; makes total sense to me. But we'll go through the process properly, for him and for our team.”
The Nuggets have dealt with some major injury issues this season and were playing Monday without three would-be starters — Christian Braun (left ankle sprain), Aaron Gordon (right hamstring strain) and Cam Johnson (right knee injury management).
Denver has managed its way through those — thanks in large part to Jokic.
“The things that he’s doing this year,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before Monday's game, “are really remarkable.”
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Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) drives to the basket as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) shoots as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) and guard Peyton Watson (8) defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
President Donald Trump said Thursday Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general.
Trump in a social media post named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting attorney general, though three people familiar with the matter have said he has privately discussed Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as a permanent pick.
It marks the end of a contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president’s perceived enemies.
Here is the latest:
The Republican had only nice things to say about Bondi in an emailed statement, noting a drop in violent crime during her tenure and her Justice Department’s responsiveness to congressional oversight requests.
“The Judiciary Committee stands ready to advance President Trump’s next Attorney General nominee,” Grassley said.
The attorney general was facing a subpoena to appear before the House Oversight Committee on April 14 as lawmakers look into how the Department of Justice handled the release of the case files on Jeffrey Epstein.
The chair of the committee, Rep. James Comer, said in a statement that he would survey Republicans on the committee on whether they still wanted to enforce the subpoena.
Democrats quickly called on the committee to follow through on the subpoena. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement that Bondi “will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our Committee under oath.”
Bondi was subpoenaed last month to appear before the Republican-led Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and face questions over the Justice Department’s sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and release of the related files.
Mace, who sits on the committee, said in a statement Thursday that Bondi “will be appearing” in two weeks because the “DOJ still hasn’t complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.”
Past attorney generals generally took pains to maintain an arm’s-length distance from the White House to protect the impartiality of investigations and prosecutions.
But Bondi postured herself as Trump’s chief supporter and protector, praising and defending him in congressional hearings and placing a banner with his face on the exterior of Justice Department headquarters.
She called for an end to the “weaponization” of law enforcement that she said occurred under the Biden administration, though her critics said she was the one who had politicized the agency to do the president’s bidding.
The Justice Department’s review and release of Epstein files frustrated members of Congress, who accused the department of hiding certain documents, over-redacting files and, in other cases, failing to redact sensitive information about the victims.
The department denied that it redacted documents in order to protect people and that it improperly withheld certain material. Still, it caused a series of headaches for the Trump administration.
“Thank you to President Trump for the trust and the opportunity to serve as Acting Attorney General,” Blanche wrote in a post on X, after saying that Bondi led the department with “strength and conviction.”
“We will continue backing the blue, enforcing the law, and doing everything in our power to keep America safe,” Blanche said.
Blanche is a former federal prosecutor who worked as Trump’s criminal defense attorney in two cases brought by the department under President Joe Biden’s administration.
He was also a key figure on the president’s defense team in the hush money case against Trump in New York.
Blanche became second in command behind Bondi at the Justice Department last year.
“We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, after saying she’s been a “loyal friend.”
Trump said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will serve as acting attorney general.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, in response to earlier reports that President Donald Trump was considering ousting Attorney General Pam Bondi, said in a statement Thursday: “I welcome it.”
“Bondi handled the Epstein Files in a terrible manner and seriously undermined President Trump,” said Mace in the statement, whose long been critical of the justice department over the release and review of the Jefferey Epstein files.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president’s perceived enemies.
The announcement follows months of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation that made Bondi the target of angry conservatives even with her close relationship with Trump. She also struggled to satisfy Trump’s demands to prosecute his political rivals, with multiple investigations rejected by judges or grand juries.
The former Florida attorney general came into office last year pledging that she would not play politics with the Justice Department, but she quickly started investigations of Trump foes, sparking an outcry that the law enforcement agency was being wielded as a tool of revenge to advance the president’s political and personal agenda.
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FILE - Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington, as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, listens. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
FILE - Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche meets with reporters in Washington, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)
FILE - Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
