Jokic vs. Gobert
Three-time regular season MVP Jokic led the Nuggets to the Timberwolves on the road against the Timberwolves in the Western Conference playoffs G3 matchup, this game, four-time DPOY winner Rudy Gobert returned, and Minnesota was eager to win the match point at home. However, the match was one-sided.
Jokic created an unprecedented miracle and blew up the Timberwolves' interior group! Nuggets set a record, Murray rebounds!
Denver, led by Jokic, Murray, Porter, and Gordon, played a fluid offense and a tough defense. Murray and Porter took the lead on the offensive end, Towns felt hot on the outside, Jokic took care of rebounding and tandem teams, and the Nuggets blossomed more points to occupy the initiative on the court. Murray and Porter led the team to a 17-5 offensive frenzy in the second quarter, extending the margin to 20 points. The Timberwolves relied on Edwards and Conley's singles to chase points, and at halftime, the Nuggets held a 15-point lead.
Jokic vs. Murray
Gordon and Porter made difficulties on the outside, Jokic held high the offensive banner, and delivered consecutive assists, and also made repeated contributions on the defensive end, Denver became more and more courageous and was able to expand the margin to 29 points. Heading into the final quarter, the Timberwolves trailed by 27 points. In the fourth quarter, Minnesota still couldn't find the outside touch, and the Nuggets were in a hot state, relying on all the soldiers to expand the margin to 34 points.
With only about 5 minutes left before the end, the two teams changed their starters one after another, and the game lost suspense. In the end, the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 117-90 to win their first semifinals. Denver is 2-1 down, and the two sides will play Game 4 at home in Minnesota.
The Nuggets beat the Timberwolves
Nuggets set a record
In this game, the Nuggets suppressed their opponents on both offensive and defensive ends. Denver outscored 40-32 in rebounding and the interior scorer led 38-34. The Timberwolves had 14 turnovers and the Nuggets had just 10. In terms of steals, the Nuggets led 9-4. In addition, Denver made 14 three-pointers on 48 percent shooting, and the Timberwolves made just 10 long-range shots on 30 percent shooting.
Jokic led the Nuggets to a big win over the Timberwolves
At the same time, the Nuggets also set a record in this battle. Statistics show that 27 points is the fifth-largest winning margin in the Nuggets in the playoffs history. The first was the 2009 first-round G4, 121-63 victory over the New Orleans Hornets (led by Chris Paul) by 58 points.
Jokic created an unprecedented miracle and blew up the Timberwolves' interior group
Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic went on a strong run in this game. Jokic played a perfect performance, he played 10-of-18, 1-of-3 three-pointers, 3-of-4 free throws, 24 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in 38 minutes of playing time, and his plus/minus +30 ranked second in the game. Jokic, who scored seven points in the first half, turned on scoring mode in the second half. Jokic, who scored 13 points in the third quarter, was on fire on the offensive end and led the team to expand the margin to 29 points. Jokic continued to lead the team in the final quarter to score points, helping Denver take a 34-point lead and seal the victory.
Nikola Jokic
At the same time, Jokic is also the scoring king, rebounding king, assist king, steal king and block king of this game. In addition, Jokic's 4 frontcourt rebounds are also the most of the two teams. Jokic led the game with as many as six stats (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, rebounds). Jokic played a great game and was arguably the best player of the game.
In addition, Jokic also set a miracle unprecedented in the NBA in this game. Statistics show: Jokic is the first player in NBA history to score at least 24 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in a single game in the playoffs.
Jokic has set a miracle that has never been seen before in the NBA
This also means that Jokic has become the first person in NBA history under the above data.
It is worth mentioning that Jokic also broke the Timberwolves interior group led by Carl Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Nazrid. Downs, the core of the Timberwolves' interior offense, shot 4-of-7 from the field, 4-of-5 from 3-pointers, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line, scoring 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, with a game-low plus/minus of -32. In the second half, Downs shot 0-of-1 and scored 2 points on free throws alone. Jokic's excellent defense made Towns completely dumb off the offensive end in the second half.
Jokic singles Downs
Gobert, the patron saint of the Timberwolves restricted area, was 3-of-5 from the field and finished with six points, four rebounds and one assist, and four fouls. Gobert has no presence on both ends of the floor, and he can't be consistent on the offensive end, and he can't keep the interior at bay. Jokic singled Gobert many times, which can be said to have completely beaten Gobert.
Gobert defends Jokic
The Timberwolves came off the bench to score 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block, with a plus/minus of -25, which was the second lowest in the game. As the new NBA's Sixth Man of the Year, Reed shot just 29 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range. Reid, who has been sluggish on the offensive end, can't limit Jokic's singles either. On both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, Reid was blown up by Jokic.
Reed defends Jokic
Hanging the Timberwolves' three major interior lines, Gobert, Towns and Reed, showed Jokic's top strength. I have to say that Jokic is indeed the strongest instant combat force in the NBA.
Murray rebounded
Nuggets backcourt superstar Jamal Murray bottomed out in this game. In the semifinals G2, Murray shot 3 of 18 shots, 0 of 4 3-pointers, got 8 points, 13 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, and had 4 turnovers. In that game, Murray only shot 17% from the field and didn't score on three-point shooting. In the first half of this game, Murray scored only 2 points on 1-of-12 shooting.
Murray strikes the basket
However, Murray rebounded strongly in G3. Murray shot 12-of-21 from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point range, and blasted down 24 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Murray scored a game-high 52 percent from the field and shot 40 percent from distance. Murray was the steal leader of the game, playing an excellent defensive end and also dishing out the second-most assists on the team. In this campaign, Murray's plus/minus is as high as +21. Murray's scoring and shooting percentage bottomed out, and his rampage on both ends of the floor was key to the Nuggets' victory over the Timberwolves.
Murray Storm dunk
Murray, who scored 18 points in the first half with 8 of 13 and 2 of 3 three-pointers, was on fire early on the offensive end. Murray, who contributed 8 points in the first quarter and scored 10 points in the second quarter, once helped the Nuggets expand the margin to 20 points in the second quarter. Murray took the lead on the offensive end and helped the Nuggets get off to a good start. Continued to score in the second quarter contributed to Denver's victory. On both ends of the floor and in tandem, Murray has greatly shared the pressure on Jokic, and he deserves to be the best second-in-command in the league.