On the morning of May 15, Beijing time, in Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals, the Nuggets hosted the Timberwolves. Since the two sides played 2:2 before, this game will also become the battle of Tianwang Mountain. In the end, the Nuggets held on to their home court, and the Timberwolves' qualification situation was a bit dangerous. Jokic chipped in 40 points and dished out 13 assists.
After the game started, the Timberwolves still insisted on their own style of play that hit the inside, causing a lot of trouble for the Nuggets. The score has been leading by a small score. And the Nuggets still insist on Jokic's core style of play, using his all-round style of play to drive the whole team. Porter Jr. hit a three-pointer from the bottom corner to tie the score to 16:15. Edwards hit the interior defense to no avail, and Jokic burst into the interior to make a foul and hit both free throws. Edwards hit a three-pointer and Pope responded with a three-pointer.
Then it was a bit of a mess, with Jokic's open layup and Edwards' open three-pointer missing. Li Kaier hit a jumper, and the two sides tied at 21. Jokic played 2+1. The Timberwolves made consecutive turnovers, and the Nuggets also made line-stepping errors. Walker hit a three-pointer to tie the score again. Reggie Jackson scored four straight points. At the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets led 28-26.
In the second quarter, the Timberwolves came up to tie the score. Gobert scored two points as the Nuggets head coach protested against being whistled for a technical foul. Braungh of the Nuggets made one of two free throws on a breakaway. Murray misses a shot and Gordon scores on a dunk. Next, the two sides were still in a scuffle, and neither side scored for three and a half minutes. Timberwolves Morris hit a mid-range shot. Jokic received an assist from Murray and scored on a layup. Gordon dunks after a steal. Jokic used his containment to assist Gordon for a dunk. Braun countered and scored on a dunk. The Nuggets led 43-39 and the Timberwolves were forced to take a timeout. Coming back from a timeout, Jokic hit a 3-pointer. Walker hit a three-pointer to stabilize the situation. Jokic scored on a footfoot layup. Daniels followed up with a layup in the middle and scored. Murray scored on a throw-in after a breakaway. At halftime, the Nuggets led 50-44.
In the third quarter, the two sides still played a relatively close game, and the score difference was basically maintained at 5-6 points. Jokic used his footwork to score on Gobert alone. Edwards made both free throws on a breakaway foul. Jokic scored again inside.
In the ensuing game, the Nuggets played more and more smoothly, and after Gordon blocked Gobert and was fouled and hit both free throws, the Nuggets led by 11 points. Edwards broke through and drew a foul on Pope and hit a free throw. Jokic hit another basket. Morris scored on a driving layup. Jokic hit another shot and drew a foul on Gobert and made a free throw. Gobert picked up the rebound and scored on a layup. Jokic made Gobert foul after breaking through Lee Kyle and made both free throws. He then scored on another layup and drew Gobert's fourth foul and hit a free throw. At the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets led by 14 points, 88-74.
In the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves took advantage of Jokic's absence and began to chase the score. Reed scored a dunk to cut the deficit to 10 points. Coming back from a timeout, Jokic came back on the floor, and Pope hit a three-pointer from the bottom corner. Then hit another three-pointer on the other side. The difference was 16 points. The Timberwolves missed Jokic and scored on a dunk. The Timberwolves were forced to take a timeout. Jokic has 37 points, 6 rebounds and 12 assists, and he is going crazy! Coming back from the timeout, Edwards and Downs scored back-to-back points. Then Reed scored a layup, and Towns made a steal and made one of two free throws, narrowing the gap to 11 points. Jokic hit a three-pointer from the buzzer. Murray singled Walker to hit a 16-point deficit, and with only two minutes left, the Timberwolves were in a difficult position. In the end, the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 112-97.