Michael Malone reveals response by banged-up Nikola Jokic after offering him to take night off against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Following the second of the Denver Nuggets' back-to-back road matchups against the OKC Thunder on Monday, Nuggets coach Michael Malone shared that he floated the idea to Nikola Jokic to take the game off due to his injuries.

"He was like 'Hell no, come on coach, I'm playing,'" Malone said.

Watch the moment at 4:51 here:

Monday's game concluded with the Nuggets clinching a 140-127 victory against the Thunder to go 2-2 against the top team in the West in their season series. Jokic led the Nuggets to victory with his double-double performance of 35 points, 18 rebounds, eight assists, one steal and a block.

Ahead of the matchup, Jokic was listed as questionable due to a right elbow contusion and left ankle impingement. NBA analyst Shams Charania shared that he was "banged up" after losing the first leg of the back-to-back encounter.

"Nikola Jokic is questionable to play tonight," Charania said. "He's dealing with issues in not just his left elbow but also his right elbow. So, both elbows have issues going on. He is banged up. But I'm told that he will warm up tonight with the intention to try to play. There's optimism that he's gonna be able to give it a go here on this back-to-back."

Nikola Jokic has missed seven games so far, as he's having one of the best seasons of his career, averaging a triple-double stat line of 28.8 points, 12.9 rebounds, 10.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He is shooting 57.4% from the field, including 43.0% from deep, as the Nuggets (42-23) stand second in the Western Conference.

Nikola Jokic makes his feelings clear on MVP race

In the postgame interview following Monday's contest, Nikola Jokic made his feelings clear on his ongoing NBA MVP race alongside OKC Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Jokic shared that he's doing all he can for his team, but the decision for the honor is out of his control.

"This is my third or fourth year in a row, so I'm really — I can't control it," Jokic said. "I will say, I think I'm playing the best basketball of my life, so if that's enough, it's enough."

The 6-foot-11 center further added that SGA is also worthy of the honor.

"If not, the guy deserves it. He's really amazing," Jokic said.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the league in scoring with 32.9 points per game. Moreover, the Thunder being 11 games ahead of the Nuggets with a 53-12 record in the West also helps SGA's case.