Jokic dominates, and other observations from the Denver Nuggets Game 5 win over the Timberwolves

Jeremy Vernon

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Jokic dominates, and other observations from the Denver Nuggets Game 5 win over the Timberwolves image

Man, what a difference a week makes.

After losing the first two games of the Western Conference Semifinals at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Denver Nuggets have rallied to take a 3-2 series lead after a 112-97 victory in Game 5 on Tuesday night.

The defending NBA champions need to one of their final two games against Minnesota to advance to the Western Conference Finals and become the sixth team in league history to win a seven-game series after losing Games 1 and 2 at home.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways from Game 5 and how they might impact both teams the rest of this series.

— Nikola Jokic had 40 points, 13 assists and zero turnovers in Game 5. He is the second player in NBA history since turnovers were officially recorded as stats (1978-79) to have at least 40 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers in a playoff game. The only other player to accomplish the feat is Chris Paul, who had 41 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers for the Rockets in Game 5 of the 2018 Western Conference Semifinals against the Jazz.

— With Minnesota center Rudy Gobert as his primary defender, Jokic was 8-for-9 from the field, including a deep 3-pointer in the fourth quarter for his final points of the night. Gobert was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time in his career in 2023-24, but Jokic made the French big man look more like he belonged at the local YMCA than the NBA Playoffs.

— Aaron Gordon had another fantastic game for Denver, totaling 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Game 5 marked the first time in Gordon's playoff career (55 games) where he totaled at least 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in one game. Since Game 2, Gordon has averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 69.7% from the field and 71.4% from 3-point range.

— Second-year guard Christian Braun had a huge impact off the bench, totaling 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks in the win while playing 28 minutes. This was the most minutes Braun has played in the playoffs this season, and his most in a game since playing 28 in a win over the Jazz on Oct. 9. He has shot better than 50% from the field in all five games against Minnesota so far.

— The Nuggets finished the game shooting 44-of-80 (55.0%) from the field. Since putting up just 80 points in Game 2, Denver has averaged 114.7 points in Games 3-5 and has shot a combined 132-of-239 (55.2%). Minnesota, meanwhile, has made just 108-of-231 (46.8%) attempts from the field during the same stretch.

— Denver had an effective strategy for defending Anthony Edwards, often blitzing him with two players when he got the ball in the halfcourt. Edwards finished with 18 points, his fewest this postseason since he scored 15 in Game 2 of the first round against Phoenix. Before Game 5, Edwards was averaging 33.3 points on 60.4% shooting against the Nuggets this series.

— Minnesota veteran guard Mike Conley did not play Game 5 with an Achilles injury, and the Timberwolves missed his calming presence on offense and tenacity on defense. In the first four games of the series, Conley averaged 10.8 points, 7.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Minnesota is hopeful he can return for Game 6.

— The Timberwolves committed 16 turnovers on Tuesday, their most in a game this postseason. Both Minnesota and Denver have had at least 10 turnovers in each of the first five games of the series.

— If Denver can win this series, it will be the sixth team in NBA history to win a seven-game playoff series after losing Games 1 and 2 at home. The last team to accomplish that feat was the Los Angeles Clippers in 2021. That year, the Clippers lost Games 1 and 2 of their first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks before rallying to win the series in seven games.

Jeremy Vernon

Jeremy Vernon Photo

Jeremy Vernon is a reporter and editor from Greensboro, North Carolina, with a decade of experience in the industry. His previous stops include MLB.com and two local papers in N.C. — the Monroe Enquirer-Journal and the Chatham News + Record. When he isn’t working, you can likely find Jeremy at the dog park with his two-year old lab mix, Summer.