MINNEAPOLIS — Superstars stink it up sometimes. Legends lose. The best can get the business end of a bad matchup. It happens. To all of them.
So let’s not make too much of Nikola Jokić looking like he left his game on the nightstand Thursday and had to borrow Chris Kaman’s.
With that said, Game 3 might’ve been the worst the Denver Nuggets’ three-time MVP has ever looked in a postseason tilt. He needed 26 shots to score 27 points against Rudy Gobert — who if you squint just so is starting to look like Bill Russell giving Wilt Chamberlain fits.
And because of who he is, and the level we’ve seen him reach, we look forward to his response.
Jokić, a 39.9-percent 3-point shooter over his last two regular seasons, has missed 19 of the 24 he’s taken behind the arc this first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, including 2-for-10 in Game 3. He had four turnovers and three assists in Thursday’s 113-96 loss, putting the Nuggets in a 2-1 hole.
“They’re a really good defensive team,” Jokić said. “And we couldn’t make shots. … If I make all the shots, then the defense is going to react. So I think that’s why I couldn’t get anybody involved. … I think I needed to do a bit better job scoring, and then I think it will open up for other guys.”
His offense wasn’t the worst part.
The Timberwolves feasted on his generosity on defense. Minnesota didn’t have any kind of 3-point shooting night. But they ate all evening on the banquet of buckets in paint.
Jaden McDaniels called the Nuggets all bad defenders and said the game plan was to go at them. He didn’t just describe how the Wolves won Game 2. He foretold the game plan for Game 3. Minnesota’s penetrators became downhill skiers going to the hole, and all slopes aimed at Jokić.
The Timberwolves made nine of their first 11 shots of the game in the restricted area. They finished with 68 points on 53 shots in the paint. Ayo Dosunmu led the Timberwolves with 25 points, and all 10 of his made baskets were layups.
“That’s the motto of the whole game,” Minnesota guard Bones Hyland said. “That’s a point of emphasis. Get downhill.”
The Timberwolves outscored the Nuggets by 21 points with Jokić on the floor. And this is with Anthony Edwards foul-plagued on his way to posting a yawn-worthy 17 points in 24 minutes.
None of this means Jokić can’t flip a switch in Game 4 and remind the world he’s the greatest.
But now he must.
The Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert (right) has contained the three-time MVP Jokić through most of the series so far. (Bruce Kluckhohn / Imagn Images)
For the sake of his teammates. For the leveling of this Western Conference series. For the teams watching this live unveiling of a blueprint to discombobulate one previously inevitable. For the sake of his loyal fans who’ve been yelling in basketball arguments for years that Jokić is grossly underrated even while widely regarded as the world’s best player.
The pressure shifts squarely onto Jokić. His job is no longer to orchestrate, but to rescue the Nuggets’ season — which entered these playoffs with championship ambition. A woeful, a struggling series, an untimely slump — none of it indicts Joker. But Thursday was an undressing by Minnesota, and the greatness we know of Jokić demands a retort.
Jokić long ago entered the conversation where his excellence could no longer be measured by numbers. He cleared that hurdle in 2023 when he hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
But at this echelon, statistics won’t save him. MVPs, awarded and snubbed, earned Jokić a place in the conversation of all-time greats. Now that he’s in it, where he belongs, accolades only matter in chat rooms and debate shows.
What matters for players of his caliber are the moments. The responses to adversity. The fortitude to figure it out and conquer their kryptonite.
They don’t get the luxury of shrugging. Not at that altitude. Jokić rightfully resides with the greatest ever to do it. But with that comes scrutiny for not doing it. Greatness is a tax collector. Always coming for what you owe.
In Game 3, he couldn’t impose his will against Gobert, and on defense, he was something worse than just laterally slow. He vacillated between overwhelmed and uninspired. He usually solves the puzzle before anyone else sees the pieces. So the version of Jokić in Game 3 felt uncanny. But these Timberwolves, facing Denver for the third time in four postseasons, have figured out a potion for what Gobert calls the best offensive player he’s ever defended.
Jokić exists above the fray of his superstardom. He doesn’t play the game asked of living legends. He conveys disinterest in the discourse. Seems to feel zero obligation to outside expectations. He doesn’t covet the clout of supremacy or the attention his success brings. It’s a bit refreshing even if boring.
But we know he breathes to win. We know his competitive fervor rivals the peers on his level. So he can’t be above this.
Thursday, Minnesota went for the heart of the Nuggets. McDaniels questioned their resistance, and then the Timberwolves collectively tested Denver’s will.
“Just playing Denver really motivates us,” McDaniels said. “That’s enough, for real. … The number and the name across their chest makes us play like this.”
And Minnesota isn’t some unbeatable machine. This isn’t a dynasty at full roar. The Timberwolves feature tough, long, athletic players who feed on aggression. But they aren’t supposed to be the team making the best player in the world look so flustered.
This part, times like these, decide the real hierarchy of NBA legends. The numbers don’t elucidate the pressure hovering over the games. They don’t tell of the intangible context.
The box score from Game 3 won’t tell of Minnesota’s intent on bullying Denver by attacking its star, and how Jokić, maybe for the first time in his career, looked completely overwhelmed.
But we know. Because we watched the Nuggets play it cool in the face of Minnesota aggression, then watched the Timberwolves speed right up Denver’s high road and drop off a whooping.
With 7:47 left in the fourth quarter, Jokić checked back in. The Minnesota lead that grown as high as 27 was down to 16 after a Tim Hardaway Jr. free throw.
Minnesota’s offense sputtered to start the quarter: 1-for-6 with three turnovers. It gave Denver some life as the MVP finalist checked back in. But Jokić gave the Timberwolves a solution. Julius Randle immediately put his head down and steered it toward the rim, finger rolling over a planted Jokić. Moments later, McDaniels did the same thing, dropping in a floater in the face of Jokić.
Minnesota knew exactly how to get its rhythm back on offense. By going at the heart of the Nuggets. Now the Timberwolves’ confidence is up there where Artemis II roamed. The Nuggets are in trouble.
We know how all-time greats would respond. Jokić is an all-time great. Moments like these, not triple-doubles, not awards, are what make men into myths.
