Time is running out for the Nuggets after Nikola Jokic had a career-worst performance against Minnesota in the Game 3 loss.
Nikola Jokic picked a bad night to have the worst shooting performance of his playoff career, going just 7-of-26 as the Denver Nuggets put up less than 100 points for the first time since January in their Game 3 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Guard Jamal Murray called it an “outlier” following the 113-96 loss that totally flipped momentum in the Timberwolves’ favor. The Nuggets, down 2-1 in the series, now face a must-win Game 4 amid injury troubles and seemingly no ability to get past the Rudy Gobert-led defense.
The tone was set when Denver went just 3-of-21 in the first quarter, their lowest output in a quarter all season, while Minnesota built a 27-point lead they never relinquished, leading by 10 or more points the remainder of the contest. And Jokic met a brick wall in Gobert, going just 7-of-29 against him and is 8-of-29 facing Gobert in the two series losses. After the Nuggets dictated the series through five quarters, things have somewhat collapsed.
For context, Denver failed to score 100 points in only two regular season games – both without Jokic. And the team posted the second highest offensive rating in league history atop the NBA with a 121.2 rating this season. It’s a stark contrast from Thursday night where it was the first time in Jokic’s career that he made seven or fewer shots on at least 26 attempts.
Here is the full story from Nuggets Roundtable writer Jack Haslett on Denver head coach David Adelman’s comments about the collapse.
Now, they face a Game 4 with Aaron Gordon’s status up in the air after being ruled out two hours before the Game 3 tipoff with a calf issue. Peyton Watson has been out since April 1 with a hamstring strain, but they’ll both get treatment before the monumental game on Saturday. But Jokic and the team on the court need to play much stouter in a bounce back Game 4 as time is running short to get back into the series.