The NBA In-Season Tournament began on Friday, and Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic gave Dallas Mavericks player Luka Doncic a cheek kiss after his team won.

Kisses from Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic following the Nuggets’ upset of the Mavericks | Marca

Jokic, 28, is from Serbia, a country where men traditionally give each other cheek kisses, especially when they are close friends or family. Slovenian Doncic and he have a great friendship and often kiss each other when they wake up.

Jokic fell one point short of a triple-double with four more rebounds and one less point than Doncic, who finished with a game-high 34 points and 10 rebounds.

The Nuggets and Jokic are currently 5-1 as the 2023 NBA season gets underway. The Mavericks advance to 4-1 in the meantime.

Doncic and Jokic also spoke briefly after the hard-fought duel, likely wanting to chat longer before the Mavericks left Ball Arena.

Playmaker Nikola Jokic is productive.

Doncic took 24 shots (11 made) to score one more point than the Serbian, but Jokic scored 33 points on 14 of 16 from the field.

NBA MVP rankings: Luka Doncic ought to be given more weight, but Nikola Jokic deserves to win – CBSSports.com

The supporting cast, which included Kyrie Irving, who led Dallas with 22 points, helped both stars.