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Minnesota Timberwolves superstar guard Anthony Edwards was seemingly in awe of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić on Tuesday night after Jokić helped the Nuggets take a 3-2 lead in their second-round playoff series.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Edwards commended Jokić for helping Denver go from 2-0 down in the series to within one game of advancing to the Western Conference Finals:
Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards on Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic’s Game 5: “I just laugh. That’s all I can do. I can’t be mad. … He’s the MVP. He’s the best player in the NBA. He showed it the last three games. … He was special tonight. I have to give him his flowers. He was that guy.” pic.twitter.com/C0x3kylQS2
“I just laugh. That’s all I can do. I mean, I can’t be mad. He’s good, man. I think I said that after Game 1 when we won and Game 2. Like, he’s the MVP. He’s the best player in the NBA. He showed it the last three games, three games in a row…He was special tonight. I gotta give him his flowers. … He was that guy tonight.”
Jokić went off for 40 points on 15-of-22 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds and seven assists in Game 5, pushing Edwards and the T-Wolves to the brink of elimination.
The 29-year-old Jokić won his third NBA MVP Award in four years this season, and he showed why he was deserving on Tuesday.
With Jokić leading the way, the reigning NBA champions were highly efficient in all aspects in Game 5, shooting 55.0 percent from the field, 47.4 percent from three-point range and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line.
Denver also won the rebounding battle 38-33 and had the edge in turnovers with 11 compared to Minnesota’s 14.
During the regular season, Jokić averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game and shot 58.3 percent from the floor. That level of production carried over to the playoffs and helped the Nuggets make quick work of the Los Angeles Lakers, beating them in five games in the first round.
The Nuggets seemed shellshocked in their first two games against Minnesota, though, losing 106-99 and 106-80 to fall behind 2-0 in the series.
Minnesota’s smothering defense posed a nightmare scenario for the Nuggets, and the Timberwolves even held Jokić in check for the most part.
While he managed to score 32 points in Game 1, Jokić shot just 44.0 percent from the field. Then, in Game 2, he finished with an un-Jokić-like 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting in one of his worst offensive performances in recent memory.
However, that game proved to be a turning point for Jokić, as he has taken over the series in the past three games. Jokić had 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting with 14 rebounds and nine assists in Game 3, and 35 points, seven boards and seven dimes in Game 4 before his explosion in Game 5.
The Nuggets were once reeling and in danger of an earlier-than-expected playoff exit after winning it all last season, but Jokić and Co. have now flipped the script and have the Timberwolves on their heels.
Minnesota is a great team led by Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, and it is heading back home for Game 6 on Thursday. Although the past three games have been deflating, the championship-hungry Timberwolves faithful figure to be firmly behind their team in a must-win scenario.
If the T-Wolves can turn things around and force a decisive Game 7, anything can happen in a winner-take-all situation.
Minnesota will likely need Jokić to play much more like he did Games 1 and 2 than he did in Games 3 through 5 to have a chance because if he turns in a repeat performance of what he did Tuesday, it may be impossible to overcome.
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