Through the first four games of this series, Rudy Gobert was the best player on the floor. Not for his stats — 8.3 points per game is not exactly world beating — but for his defense on Nikola Jokic. Left on an island, Gobert was making the three-time MVP work for every inch of ground, every shot, which allowed Jaden McDaniels and the other Timberwolves defenders to stay one on their man.
Monday night, Nikola Jokic was the best player on the floor.
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Jokic came out more aggressively from the start, which sparked other Nuggets such as Cam Johnson and Spencer Jones. In the end, Jokic had a 27-point, 12-rebound, 16-assist triple-double.
Behind him, the Nuggets led this game almost the entire way, pulling away in the fourth quarter for what became a 125-113 victory at home.
Denver’s win staves off elimination and sets up a massive Game 6 in Minnesota on Thursday night. The Timberwolves still lead the series 3-2.
“They’re a championship team. They have championship DNA,” said Minnesota’s Julius Randle, via the Associated Press. “They’re going to come out and have a sense of pride on their home court. They did that tonight. So, credit to them. We get to go back to Minnesota and have a chance to close it out.”
Minnesota will be without All-Star Anthony Edwards (hamstring) and Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles), as they were in this game after the duo’s injuries a couple of days prior. While Minnesota had a resilient and impressive win in Game 4, they didn’t consistently play with that same energy in Denver. It showed on both the defensive end and in the 25 turnovers the team had.
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Julius Randle had a strong game with 27 points and nine rebounds, and Ayo Dosunmu, starting now at guard, added 18. However, it was the Timberwolves bench that had the best night for the team, scoring 48 as a group.
It’s that bench play and the fact that the Timberwolves still shot 50% as a team that should give them hope heading home — if Minnesota brings that urgency and cuts down on turnovers, it has a real chance to close the series in Game 6. The Timberwolves need that win, they do not want to go back to Denver for a Game 7.
“We just ended up losing the day,” Jaden McDaniels said, “but we’re going to win the next one.”
The last team to come back from 3-1 down to win a playoff series? The Denver Nuggets, in the 2020 bubble playoffs — where they did it twice.
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