On May 15, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, and the defending champion Nuggets returned to their home court against the Timberwolves. The Nuggets equalized the score in two consecutive cities on the road, and this time they returned to their home court with great momentum, and the Timberwolves could also bite the score, but the opponent opened up the gap in the second half, and Jokic and Murray scored consecutive points to kill the game. In the end, the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 112-97 and won three games in a row, going from 0-2 to 3-2.
The Timberwolves were hit in this game, the veteran Conley was absent due to injury, and Walker started the game. The two teams fell into a tug-of-war, and the Timberwolves also took the initiative on the court, Gordon also made 2 early commits, but Jokic stepped up and scored consecutive points to help the team take a 2-point lead in the first quarter. The two teams are still inseparable, the defensive intensity is still very large, the Timberwolves were whistled for 3 offensive fouls in a row, the team's offense was blocked, and the Nuggets began to open up some points under the leadership of Jokic, and the Nuggets led the Timberwolves 50-44 at halftime.
In the second half, the Timberwolves came up with a wave of 7-0 to overtake the score, but then Jokic began to control the overall situation, first sending consecutive assists, and then consecutive singles Gobert to win, the difference was widened, Edwards played a little briefly, and the Timberwolves fell behind by 14 points after the third quarter. In the final quarter of the game, the Nuggets still took the initiative, and the Timberwolves narrowed the gap several times, but Jokic and Murray scored consecutive points and directly opened the difference again, and the game lost suspense. In the end, the Nuggets beat the Timberwolves 112-97 and led 3-2.
Starting from 0-2 at the beginning of the series, it was widely believed that the defending champions were going to be eliminated from the tournament, or even swept out. But as the defending champions, the Nuggets did not panic and began to get into the groove, feeling the intensity of the Timberwolves in the first two games, and they responded quickly when they came to the road, winning two games in a row to tie the score at 2-2. The battle of Kings Mountain returned to the Nuggets' home court, this time the defending champions did not give the Timberwolves another chance, and the performances of Jokic and Murray made them three in a row, and now the momentum has completely come to the Nuggets' side.
At this time, I believe that no one is optimistic about the Timberwolves anymore, the Nuggets have adapted to the intensity of the Timberwolves, and the Timberwolves have not made any adjustments. This time, Jokic directly broke Gobert and Towns, 15 of 22, 2 of 3 three-pointers, and got 40 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists and 0 turnovers, making Gobert directly doubt his life. This time, Jokic really hit indiscriminately, and it is also a number of records, another player with at least 40 points, 10 assists and 0 turnovers in a single playoff game, and the second center player in the 21st century to cut 40+ at least 5 times in the playoffs, comparable to O'Neal.