In the second round of G5, the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 112-97 at home and won Tianwang Mountain.
Jokic received his third MVP trophy at home before the game, and just as low-key as he did when he won the FMVP last year, Jokic didn't even lift the MVP trophy above his head or give any speech.
It feels like Jokic's teammates are happier than he is — and probably the happiest moment for Jokic is when his teammates rush up to celebrate him so he can get off the court.
However, winning the award is low-key, which does not mean that the competition is low-key.
This Jokic played his strongest personal performance so far in this year's playoffs.
In the whole game, Jokic played a total of 41 minutes, shooting 15 of 22, 2 of 3 three-pointers, 8 of 9 free throws, scored 40 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists and 2 steals, and did not have a single turnover, and his plus/minus was +21, the highest in the game.
Although it was a 15-point victory, it was not easy for the Nuggets to win, and the turning point occurred in the third quarter, from 53-55 down to 76-63 lead, in less than half a quarter, the Nuggets played a wave of 23-8, and never let the Timberwolves overtake.
In this quarter, Jokic played 12 minutes, 6 of 7 in a single quarter, scored 16 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, and his statistics in the first quarter were even better than teammate Murray's statistics (18 points, 1 rebound and 4 assists).
In this game, the main defense of Jokic is still Gobert.
Judging from the past four games, Jokic is indeed not so easy to play Gobert, statistically, the two have faced each other in the previous three games (Gobert has rested once), Jokic has made a total of 26 shots and 10 shots, with a shooting rate of only 38.5%, 28 points, 7 assists, and 3 turnovers.
For comparison, Jokic shot 26 of 50 from the field in the first round, shooting 52.0%, scoring 67 points and 25 assists, and only had 4 turnovers in total - so, just looking at the previous series, it is not accurate to say that Thick Eyebrow defended better than Gobert.
However, in this G5 game, Jokic was stunned to educate Gobert clearly, throughout the game, he challenged Gobert's single defense many times, and the effect was excellent, a total of 9 8 in the match, not to mention that he also sent 13 assists and did not make a single mistake in the game.
There is a detail worth noting, in the third quarter, after Jokic knocked down the Timberwolves alone, he went to rest, at this time the camera showed the Nuggets bench, only to see Jokic not sweating at all, and his face was sad, as if they were behind.
This is Jokic, and historically, I'm sorry, I really can't find any player with the same ability and character as him, former Nuggets head coach George Karl wrote after the game: "Jokic > O'Neal." ”
If George Karl is exaggerating, then listen to what Timberwolves coach Finch had to say: "He received the MVP trophy today and played the best performance in the world, and we couldn't do anything about him. ”
Let's talk about the Timberwolves, it's hard.
Conley was absent due to an Achilles tendon strain, and the Timberwolves offense without him was disorganized, with 14 turnovers in the game, including 11 before the end of the half, as a comparison, Conley's statistics in G4 were 15 points, 9 assists and 0 turnovers.
The direct performance is that because Conley is not there, the Timberwolves even need Gobert to hold the ball inside to lead the team, but with Gobert's butter hand, it would be good not to make mistakes;
And Conley's absence caused the Timberwolves to give Morris more time, but Morris didn't shoot long, and he didn't dare to shoot in the face of Jokic several times.
Edwards was very good in the previous series, but he was taken care of in this game, and he was caught as soon as he got the ball, and he also tried to lead his teammates, but the Timberwolves did not attack well, with a total of 8 of 26 three-pointers, and a shooting rate of only 30.8%.
Of course, Edwards himself has his own shortcomings, although he has an excellent individual offense, but he does have shortcomings in passing and control, and because of the bad start, Edwards' offensive desire in this game is not strong, in the supergiant dialogue with Jokic, Jokic can be said to win.
In this series, the balance of victory has tipped in favor of the Nuggets.
It's also interesting to say that after the first two games, how many fans thought that the Timberwolves might sweep the Nuggets, but who would have thought that the Nuggets would actually win three games in a row, two of which were still big wins by more than 15 points.
It must be admitted that the Timberwolves are powerful, but, it is undeniable that the reason why the Nuggets were abnormal in the first two games was somewhat affected by the laxity after beating the Lakers in the first round and the lack of defensive intensity in the first two games.
After G3, this Nuggets team is clearly different from the previous one, as a direct example of this, the Nuggets have led all halftime in their last three games, and in the first round, they have not played a single opening game.
Of course, the series isn't over yet, but if Conley can't return in the next game and the Timberwolves offense is still in this state, no matter how good their defense is, it may not be useful - Gobert is doing a good job, but it's Jokic on the other side.