There is no elasticity left. Hyperbole exists. The Nuggets stand with their toes dangling over the edge of the cliff, a view never required during last year’s championship run. They have reached Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals.

Let’s call this series what it is with no historical perspective required: a clumsy mess of brilliance and blowouts.

Everything screams that the Nuggets should be concerned. With a chance to extinguish the Timberwolves on Thursday night, the Nuggets played with the urgency of Eeyore.

And yet, there is no panic. Disappointment? Yes. Humiliation? Absolutely. But no alarms were blaring in the locker room. The only sound an hour after the game was Nikola Jokic, airpods in, humming along to one of his favorite songs. He is the temperature of this team. And this mood remains the overwhelming reason they will win on Sunday.

Do you believe?

Coach Michael Malone has leaned on this more than Ted Lasso over the last week. The Nuggets are not a Gucci knockoff. They have been authentic for a calendar year. They have exceeded expectations, and returning home in front of a full-throat crowd at Ball Arena they will live up to their warranty. It’s what they do until they don’t.

And why waste time thinking they won’t? Nuggets Nation will lose fingernails over the next few days. And surely the Sunday bottomless mimosas will feature orange-flavored liqueur and pink-colored Pepto-Bismol.

Fans fret. They worry. It’s what they do. This pretzled passion is what makes sports so enjoyable and miserable.

But this is not about them, Nuggets. It’s about you.

And these humbled players were not running hot. Nor were they running from the sobering reality that they suffered the largest loss in NBA history by a defending champion. Even before Jokic soaked his feet in a red tub of ice, he was “cool” with what happened.

“They beat our ass. They were better in every segment of the game,” Jokic said. “When you lose by 45, it’s not something that happens everyday. We need to accept it.”

Jokic walks the tightrope of playing with emotion, without becoming emotional about the result. All he lost was a game. He wasn’t trying to sell the idea that Jamal Murray was hurt, or that Crunch the mascot was too annoying, or that the refs swallowed their whistles.

“It was a great loss,” Jokic said in a nod to what can be learned over the next 48 hours.

The Nuggets own rings for a reason. They have shown why in this series by refusing to give in to frustration, if not exhaustion. In two of their three defeats, they have been throttled. They boarded a plane to Minnesota trailing 2-0 to the delight of the national media that has turned doubting them into a cottage industry.

Accountability provides the path back to redemption. Their best players demonstrated it in Game 3. They will do it again on Sunday.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We don’t want it to be easy. We embrace challenges,” forward Aaron Gordon said. “I have full faith in this team.”

Murray walked into his press conference like he was meeting the media after a morning shoot-around. He was candid, reflective, calmly pointing the finger in the mirror.

“We played terrible. I played terrible. Own it,” Murray said after scoring 10 points and only two in the first half. “Now, we gotta go win it.”

Critics will say the Nuggets are delusional after what played out at Target Center. They raced out to a 9-2 lead — “We had them, right? It didn’t look good for them,” said Jokic as he acknowledged my laughter a few feet away — and were outscored by 53 over the final 45 minutes.

The Timberwolves double-teamed Jokic with success because Denver could not bury open shots. After carrying the Nuggets at times vs. the Lakers, Michael Porter Jr. failed to score in double figures for the third straight game. Denver’s bench became a ghost. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope remains inconsistent.

The one player whose performance continues to cause angst is Murray. He is a closer who has looked finished for long stretches. In the Nuggets’ three losses, he has missed 37 of 50 shots, and appeared uncomfortable doing it because of an achy calf and, as of Thursday, a sore elbow. In the Nuggets’ three wins, he has made 26 of 52 from the field. Will his shooting limb feel better in a few days?

“I hope so for our team’s sake,” Murray admitted.

The Nuggets need him in rhythm. They have proven they cannot win without his meaningful contribution.

Denver’s problems are not disguised. They have issues with Anthony Edwards, lack physicality in the paint and get careless with the ball.

But let’s not forget what we have learned about these Nuggets. They care about their legacy. They have answered every bell, passed every inspection. Lose and the criticism will be deserved and scathing. But guarantee they will respond, and you won’t need a refund.

The knockout game has arrived. It is impossible to stretch this rubber band. The Nuggets spent last June doing something they had never done. Time to do it again. And snap back.

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The Denver Nuggets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-70 in game 6 of their second-round NBA playoff series at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Thursday, May 16, 2024. The series is now tied 3-3, with game 7 determining who goes on to the Western Conference Finals.

MINNEAPOLIS — After an exchange of blowouts that has lasted six games, there’s no telling what could happen in the seventh.

Jamal Murray’s shooting efficiency reverted to Game 2 form, Michael Porter Jr. was held to single-digit scoring for a third consecutive game, and the Nuggets were crushed, 115-70, by the Timberwolves in a potential close-out Game 6 on Thursday night. It set a new franchise low in playoff single-game scoring.

Anthony Edwards bounced back with 27 points and three steals. Jaden McDaniels supplied 21 points on 10 shots as Denver gave him the Aaron Gordon treatment, living with his shots. And the two Minnesota wings combined to quiet the Nuggets’ second and third options at the defensive end. Murray shot 4 for 18, totaling 10 points. Porter scored eight on 3-of-9 shooting.

Nikola Jokic’s 22 points weren’t enough to overcome the lack of supporting offense. He only registered two assists, matching a season-low (at Minnesota in March).

The series finale Sunday at Ball Arena will be the Nuggets’ first elimination game since April 27, 2022, against Golden State. It will be their first Game 7 since the bubble in 2020. They are 3-1 in Game 7s in the Jokic era, which spans five consecutive playoff appearances before this year. The only time the Nuggets have lost a series that they led in Jokic’s career was the second round against Portland in 2019, when they blew a 3-2 lead.

Denver coach Michael Malone’s focus is usually defense-first during his pregame news conferences when he’s asked about the keys to winning any given matchup. The Timberwolves’ imposing defense has made this series an anomaly in that regard. Snuffing Minnesota’s miniature runs before they could inflate beyond the realm of recovery was a strength for the Nuggets in Games 3 and 4. What would it take to sustain that success and keep the crowd out of it Thursday night?

“Our offense,” Malone said before Game 6. “If we play a clean game, that limits their transition. That keeps Anthony Edwards out of the paint. … I think if you want to keep the crowd out of it and give your defense a chance, you have to make sure you have a clean game offensively. They’ve shown time and time again, they can turn you over in a hurry. They can block shots. And that converts into easy points in transition. Highlight dunks. And that’s when this place will just erupt.”

His comment was prescient. The cleanliness of Denver’s game reached its limit after about three minutes, when Chris Finch called a timeout trailing 9-2. The Nuggets didn’t score for the next 5:45, missing seven consecutive shots and turning it over four times during a 27-2 haymaker. Target Center regained life early in that run when Murray brought the ball up and was pressured by Edwards and McDaniels. In an image eerily reminiscent of the first two games, they forced a turnover and an easy highlight dunk for Edwards.

The Nuggets were out-rebounded 19-10 in the first quarter, while getting outscored 18-6 in the paint and 9-0 on fast breaks. They scored as many points in the frame (14) as Edwards.

In a desperate attempt to put a lid on top of the arena, Malone kept Jokic on the floor to start the second quarter, eschewing his regular substitution pattern. The Nuggets continued to build a tower of bricks on open 3-point looks, but they showed brief signs of life anyway by crashing the offensive glass and forcefully earning points. They clipped the deficit to 11, but eventually Jokic had to sit. Malone brought in Gordon at the backup five, and the Timberwolves immediately punished the second unit. The lead got back to 19 with Naz Reid scoring six unanswered.

The Nuggets’ bench, impressive for the first half of this series, did not score a point Thursday until the fourth quarter. Malone was done with his starters with more than eight minutes remaining.

His garbage-time substitutions provided Finch a convenient layer of bubble wrap for Edwards, who had stayed down for an extended period of time after a hard landing in the third quarter. The series flashed before Minnesota’s eyes while he appeared to cling to his hip, but he stayed in the game.

Initial thoughts from the Nuggets’ embarrassing Game 6 loss to the Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals:

Murray struggles: Nuggets star Jamal Murray was no longer the enemy. And he needed the energy from the boos. The Nuggets missed more open shots than T.J. Hooker. Murray symbolized the struggles as the fans ignored him. He had his latest frigid start, scoring two points in the first half on 1-of-10 shooting. He did not make his first 3-pointer until 8:06 remaining in the third quarter and finished with 10 points before icing his elbow on the bench. The Nuggets clanked 17 of their first 21 3s, setting up a knockout game on Sunday. The sellout crowd began chanting “Wolves in 7!” with 8:33 remaining. The Nuggets have won their last two Game 7s, both coming in the bubble vs. the Jazz and Clippers. And, let’s remember, they have a one-game winning streak at Ball Arena. So, there’s that.

McDaniels McNuggets: The postseason remains a fertile ground for unlikely contributors. Thursday, Jaden McDaniels filled the role, playing with the dynamic athleticism of Heisman quarterback Jayden Daniels. After going scoreless in Game 5, McDaniels took up the Nuggets’ dare to shoot. He was hot from the start, scoring 13 in the first half. He had not scored more than 11 in the previous five games. McDaniels delivered 21 points, just shy of his career playoff high of 25 set against the Suns in the first round. Anthony Edwards got his — he had more points at half (19) than he did in Game 5 (18) and battled through a right hip injury — but it was McDaniels who provided the surprising thump.

20–20-0 Vision: In the first quarter, it was like the Nuggets underwent identity bypass surgery. They committed four turnovers, including two from Nikola Jokic who had zero on 129 touches in Game 5. They missed easy jump shots, and they showed panic as they fell into a sinkhole and brought the crowd to life. Faith was fading in Minnesota as the get-in ticket price dropped from $530 in Game 3 to $70 for Game 6. The fans who packed Target Center were rewarded. The Timberwolves answered the Nuggets’ 9-0 run with a 20-0 burst that shoved them ahead 22-9, a lead they would never relinquish in a blowout.

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Revenge games provide a platform for players to show why they should have won MVP honors. Nikola Jokic staged a revenge game to show why he did win MVP honors.

The premise was that the Minnesota Timberwolves were trying to reconnect in this series after getting skunked twice at home. They exuded confidence, convinced Tuesday would be different.

Then it became Jokic vs. Everybody. Everybody Lost. The Nuggets won because he is him. Avs stars Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy delivered multiple titles. Rockies greats Todd Helton and Larry Walker remain forever immortalized in the Hall of Fame. And Alex English could slinky his way to 28 points a night.

But other than John Elway, our Babe Ruth, none of them is a bigger legend than Jokic. Even Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards conceded the obvious, a telling compliment with a knockout game looming.

“He was special. I have to give him his flowers,” Edwards said. “He was that guy.”

The only thing missing from one of the top five performances in his career was Jokic talking like Liam Neeson in his postgame presser about his “particular set of skills.”

He schooled Karl-Anthony Towns, worked over Naz Reid, and held a Roast of Rudy. Rudy Gobert owns four defensive player of the year trophies, a testament to his size, strength and length. Jokic turned him into a one-legged air dancer greeting customers at a used car lot. He converted 8 of 9 shots with Gobert as his primary defender.

I cannot fathom how any current or former NBA player can watch Jokic and not believe two things: that he is the best in the world and that this series is over.

Jokic scored 16 points in the third quarter Tuesday. He scored 16 in the fourth quarter in Game 4. The Timberwolves felt like they were frequently in the right position, and it did not matter. When Jokic gets this hot, this aggressive, there’s little the opponent can do. Nothing screams MVP like making the competition feel powerless.

“He was in the zone. I mean a couple of shots I think I actually blocked and the ball went in,” Gobert said. “He put his team on his back in the third quarter. It was definitely one of those stretches that we are going to have to watch the film. I think there are things we should have done better, but there’s also plays he made that I think are tough to overcome.”

The Thunderwolves began the playoffs with six straight victories, and now have dropped three consecutive games for the first time this season. Minnesota features two coaches – boss Chris Finch and assistant Micah Nori – who spent time on the Nuggets staff. They possess institutional knowledge. And they have no answer for the Nuggets’ basketball Einstein.

Jokic leads by example, not intimidation.

The Nuggets players do what he does out of respect, mirroring his unselfishness. What made Game 5 different and why the Timberwolves will lose Game 6 is because Jokic has solved their Rubik’s Cube. Minnesota finished the season with the league’s best defensive efficiency rating. Following their dominant first two wins, there were comparisons to the 2004 Detroit Pistons.

Time to throw those in one of the state’s 10,000 lakes. Jokic has rendered them worthless. He dropped 40 points. Jokic in the paint was Beethoven at the piano. He bullied Gobert with his forearms, sinking spinning fallaways and left-handed hooks. He sank a 3-pointer in Kyle Anderson’s face, beat Towns on a back cut for a layup, and dunked multiple times.

“I am not entirely sure what I just watched,” forward Aaron Gordon said. “It was ridiculous.”

When the Nuggets dropped the first two home games, the Timberwolves annoyed Jokic. He made 16 of 38 shots (42 percent) with 11 turnovers and a minus-28 rating. In an off day before Game 3, he was named MVP for the third time, only the ninth player to accomplish the feat. With the national media saying the Nuggets were cooked, it threatened to tarnish his accomplishment.

“Nikola is very relaxed. He is passionate, but he doesn’t show it,” backup center DeAndre Jordan said. “When we went down 0-2, I think a switch kind of flipped for him and our entire team.”

The three games since have been the Revenge of the Serb. Jokic has made 40 of 65 shots (61.5 percent) with seven turnovers and a plus-54 rating. Find a better postseason stretch for a Colorado professional athlete. I dare you. Maybe the Broncos’ Terrell Davis in the 1997 and 1998 playoffs when he put his foot in the ground for 5.52 yards per carry and 11 touchdowns. Or Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez in the 2009 playoffs (10-for-17 with three extra-base hits).

For the Timberwolves to even this series, they must either stifle Jokic or match him. That is the evil of two lessers. There is no chance this will happen.

Truth is, we will not see his like again. Except on Thursday in Game 6.

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Revenge games provide a platform for players to show why they should have won MVP honors. Nikola Jokic staged a revenge game to show why he did win MVP honors.

The premise was that the Minnesota Timberwolves were trying to reconnect in this series after getting skunked twice at home. They exuded confidence, convinced Tuesday would be different.

Then it became Jokic vs. Everybody. Everybody lost. The Nuggets won because he is him. Avs stars Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy delivered multiple titles. Rockies greats Todd Helton and Larry Walker remain forever immortalized in the Hall of Fame. And Alex English could slinky his way to 28 points a night.

But other than John Elway, our Babe Ruth, none of them is a bigger legend than Jokic. Even Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards conceded the obvious, a telling compliment with a knockout game looming.

“He was special. I have to give him his flowers,” Edwards said. “He was that guy.”

The only thing missing from one of the top five performances in his career was Jokic talking like Liam Neeson in his postgame presser about his “particular set of skills.”

He schooled Karl-Anthony Towns, worked over Naz Reid, and held a Roast of Rudy. Rudy Gobert owns four defensive player of the year trophies, a testament to his size, strength and length. Jokic turned him into a one-legged air dancer greeting customers at a used car lot, converting eight of nine shots with Gobert as his primary defender.

I cannot fathom how any current or former NBA player can watch Jokic and not believe two things: that he is the best in the world and that this series is over.

Jokic scored 16 points in the third quarter Tuesday. He scored 16 in the fourth quarter in Game 4. The Timberwolves felt like they were frequently in the right position, and it did not matter. When Jokic gets this hot, this aggressive, there’s little the opponent can do. Nothing screams MVP like making the competition feel powerless.

“He was in the zone. I mean a couple of shots I think I actually blocked and the ball went in,” Gobert said. “He put his team on his back in the third quarter. It was definitely one of those stretches that we are going to have to watch the film. I think there are things we should have done better, but there’s also plays he made that I think are tough to overcome.”

The Timberwolves began the playoffs with six straight victories, and now have dropped three consecutive games for the first time this season. Minnesota features two coaches — boss Chris Finch and assistant Micah Nori — who spent time on the Nuggets staff. They possess institutional knowledge. And they have no answer for the Nuggets’ basketball Einstein.

Jokic leads by example, not intimidation.

The Nuggets players do what he does out of respect, mirroring his unselfishness. What made Game 5 different and why the Timberwolves will lose Game 6 is because Jokic has solved their Rubik’s Cube. Minnesota finished the season with the league’s best defensive efficiency rating. Following its dominant first two wins, there were comparisons to the 2004 Detroit Pistons.

Time to throw those in one of the state’s 10,000 lakes. Jokic has rendered them worthless. He dropped 40 points. Jokic in the paint was Beethoven at the piano. He bullied Gobert with his forearms, sinking spinning fallaways and left-handed hooks. He sank a 3-pointer in Kyle Anderson’s face, beat Towns on a back cut for a layup, and dunked multiple times.

“I am not entirely sure what I just watched,” forward Aaron Gordon said. “It was ridiculous.”

When the Nuggets dropped the first two home games, the Timberwolves annoyed Jokic. He made 16 of 38 shots (42%) with 11 turnovers and a minus-28 rating. In an off day before Game 3, he was named MVP for the third time, only the ninth player to accomplish the feat. With the national media saying the Nuggets were cooked, it threatened to tarnish his accomplishment.

“Nikola is very relaxed. He is passionate, but he doesn’t show it,” backup center DeAndre Jordan said. “When we went down 0-2, I think a switch kind of flipped for him and our entire team.”

The three games since have been the Revenge of the Serb. Jokic has made 40 of 65 shots (61.5%) with seven turnovers and a plus-54 rating. Find a better postseason stretch for a Colorado professional athlete. I dare you. Maybe the Broncos’ Terrell Davis in the 1997 and 1998 playoffs when he put his foot in the ground for 5.52 yards per carry and 11 touchdowns. Or Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez in the 2009 playoffs (10-for-17 with three extra-base hits).

For the Timberwolves to even this series, they must either stifle Jokic or match him. That is the evil of two lessers. There is no chance this will happen.

Truth is, we will not see his like again. Except on Thursday in Game 6.

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All in a day’s work, Nikola Jokic dodged questions about his aggression against Rudy Gobert, exhibited gentle embarrassment at being called a genius by his coworkers, then referred to himself as a freak of nature with a complete poker face.

That was at the podium. On the court, he passed behind his back to perimeter shooters, behind his back to the baseline dunkers, over the top of five defenders for Hail Mary touchdowns. He shot 8 for 9 against a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, made ambidextrous hook shots and step-back 3s and spinning driving and-ones and thunderous two-handed slams. All in a day’s work.

“There aren’t enough words,” Aaron Gordon said. “He was amazing tonight. That was ridiculous.”

“It felt like he had 50,” Jamal Murray said after Denver’s Game 4 win over the Timberwolves. “Whenever he gets going like that, you kind of let him dictate the way the game’s gonna go.”

The actual total was 40. And 13 assists. It was the 10th time in Jokic’s career that he has scored that many points without a teammate going for 20. In each of the three playoff games when that phenomenon occurred before Tuesday, the Nuggets lost. Jokic wouldn’t let them lose this one.

So he was entitled to at least one cocky postgame quote, even if its true subtext was self-deprecating.

“I had an open lane,” Jokic said of his first-quarter dunk. “And you know, I’m a freak of nature. Why not show my athleticism?”

By Jokic standards, the driving finish was emphatic. Rarely, if ever, does the Serbian center cock the ball back over his head before throwing down a dunk — except when warming up, as teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope pointed out. When Gordon was asked to share which of Jokic’s improbable shots was his personal favorite, the choice was easy. “When he goes through the lane and he tomahawks it,” Gordon said, grinning, “that’s my favorite.”

It was the second game in a row Jokic has manufactured a highlight that way, following his one-handed jam over Anthony Edwards in Minnesota. This one established the volume of Ball Arena and the tone of a fiercely competitive swing game in the series. Denver has now clawed back from down 2-0 to lead 3-2, thanks in large part to Jokic’s scoring mindset.

His post-ups against Gobert were the main event of the highlight reel. Jokic pivoted in both directions to drop Gobert in a blender early. He play-faked at all the right moments and pulled the trigger without a fake precisely when Gobert was on his heels. He ducked underneath the rim for a reverse hook and leaned away from the rim when he needed one more centimeter of space. He used the glass. Or sometimes he didn’t. He customized his release angle based on space. He heightened the parabola of his arc.

For as much artistry as Jokic is said to incorporate to the game of basketball, his shot-making in Game 5 felt more like the work of a mathematician.

“His IQ is off the charts,” coach Michael Malone said. “He probably belongs to Mensa. He probably doesn’t even know what Mensa is. I’ll quiz guys throughout the series, about play calls, about personnel tendencies, about game plan, and Nikola, he is ahead of everybody. He just knows everything.”

Presented with Malone’s IQ compliment and Gordon’s recent anointment of genius status, Jokic placed his head in his hands. “Funny,” he said meekly.

But that’s the juxtaposition that defines Jokic: His puzzle-solving brain is his superpower, yet the only obstacle between him and consistent 15-for-22 games is the “22” part — some mental barricade. Call it shooter’s block. His mind even betrayed him in Game 2 of this series, when he attempted only 13 field goals in 39 minutes of a blowout loss. He was too determined to pass for his own good.

“Sometimes he’s a little too passive,” Gordon said. “So we appreciate it when he shoots more.”

Jokic’s ownership of the Gobert matchup is increasingly apparent. It dates back years, to the 2020 bubble when the Nuggets overcame a 3-1 first-round deficit to Gobert’s Jazz. Now they’re are on the verge of snatching another series from him, and Jokic’s relentless pursuit of a one-on-one bucket is a major reason why.

When Karl-Anthony Towns guards Jokic, Gobert is lurking on the back line, a physical roadblock to supplement any mental ones. But Denver has improved throughout the series at finding ways to switch Towns or the second Minnesota big off of Jokic, then spacing the original defender to the opposite side of the floor. Jokic’s eyes light up.

He’ll never admit that.

“Some of the shots were really tough,” he said of the 8-for-9 clip against Gobert. “Some of the shots were shots I think I can make. He’s a good defender. Always makes you do a little bit more. And sometimes you need to make a tough shot.”

That, Jokic did. Gobert played some of his most impenetrable defense in the post and on the perimeter. It was helpless. And the newly anointed three-time MVP saved his best for last — an off-the-dribble, step-back 3-pointer in Gobert’s face and over his contest at the shot clock buzzer. It landed Jokic at 40, extended the lead to 13 and extinguished Minnesota’s last remaining comeback ambitions.

“When he gets it going,” Murray said, “and he’s throwing up that stupid one-legged, one-armed behind-the-backboard (shot), I’m just going back on defense.”

Rudy Gobert’s effort was valiant. But Nikola Jokic was just too good.

In the midst of Jokic’s scoring onslaught in the third quarter of Game 5, the Timberwolves big man was in the paint, trying his best to prevent the three-time MVP from moving around him.

Jokic backed down Gobert, turned left, then right, then left again before he shot the ball over the four-time Defensive Player of the Year’s outstretched arm and into the heavens before dropping down through the net.

The Nuggets took a seven-point lead with 6:40 left in the quarter, as Minnesota — the best defensive team in the NBA — saw its hopes for a Game 5 slowly fading away.

“I just laugh. That’s all I can do,” Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards said after a 112-97 loss Tuesday night at Ball Arena. “He’s the MVP.”

“… I have to give (Jokic) his flowers. He was that guy.”

There was nothing the Timberwolves could do against Jokic, who tallied 40 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds to lead the Nuggets to take a 3-2 series lead. Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said the team tried everything defensively to stop Jokic, but it was no use.

Finch thought Jokic did a good job at putting himself in one-on-one situations, where he used his body to back defenders down. Gobert was Jokic’s primary victim.

It started in the first quarter when Jokic scored a turnaround fadeaway jumper over the Frenchman in the opening minutes. Later in the second, he dribbled under the basket before sinking a hook shot with Gobert draped all over him.

“That was a best-player-in-the-world performance,” Finch said. “We didn’t have an answer for him. Honestly, we haven’t had one the last couple of games.”

As the game progressed, Jokic continued to hunt Gobert. He spun around guard Kyle Anderson before converting a layup over Gobert while drawing a foul, extending Denver’s lead to 11 points. In the final 41 seconds of the third, he was guarded by Gobert at the 3-point line when he powered to the rim and converted a fadeaway shot.

By the end of the night, Jokic made 8 of 9 shots when defended by Gobert.

“He made plays that were tough to counter,” Gobert.

Just like his teammates, Gobert didn’t spend too much time dwelling in frustration over Jokic’s performance. All he could do was tip his cap.

“There were a couple of shots that I (thought) I blocked and the ball went in,” Gobert said. “It was incredible.”

“You gotta give credit where credit is due,” Timberwolves center Karl Anthony-Towns added. “… We are in a whole different situation than we were eight (to) nine days ago (when the Wolves took a 2-0 series lead).”

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The Denver Nuggets outpaced the Minnesota Timberwolves to win game 5 of the series 112-97 on Tuesday night, May 14, 2024, at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Denver now leads the series 3-2.