Getty Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets drives against Rudy Gobert #27 of the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game Five of the Western Conference Second Round Playoffs.
Nikola Jokic started Tuesday night, May 14, by receiving this third NBA MVP trophy. He finished it with a dominant 40-point performance, leaving Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards in awe.
“I just laugh. That’s all I can do,” Edwards told reporters after Jokic led the Denver Nuggets’ breakaway in the second half. “I can’t be mad.”
Edwards’ reaction to Jokic’s dominant Game 5 went viral as Washington Post’s Ben Golliver’s video clip on X, formerly Twitter, has already amassed 1.4 million views as of May 15.
Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards on Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic’s Game 5: “I just laugh. That’s all I can do. I can’t be mad. … He’s the MVP. He’s the best player in the NBA. He showed it the last three games. … He was special tonight. I have to give him his flowers. He was that guy.”
After the Nuggets were written off as the Timberwolves raced to a 2-0 series lead, the Nuggets have shown the heart of a champion. They have blown the Timberwolves in the next three games, including a 112-97 victory in Game 5 that had the Nuggets on the cusp of the Western Conference Finals for the second straight year.
Jokic showed why he was a three-time MVP. He put his stamp in the pivotal third quarter, scoring 16 points and dishing four assists as the Nuggets built a 14-point lead.
“He’s good, man,” Edwards said of Jokic. “I think I said that after Game 1 when we won, and Game 2, he’s the MVP. He’s the best player in the NBA. He showed it the last three games, three games in a row. He was special tonight. I’ve got to give him his flowers. He was that guy tonight.”
Edwards, who was the toast of the NBA after their 2-0 lead, was reduced to a mere spectator to Jokic’s brilliance. The Timberwolves star was held to 5 of 15 shooting good for only 18 points in the crucial Game 5 after averaging 33.3 points on 60.4% shooting in the first four games of the series.
Jokic shredded the defense of Rudy Gobert, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, as he went 8 of 9 against him. The league’s MVP also had 13 assists as he wound up with a game-high plus-21 net rating.
ESPN Analysts Defend Rudy Gobert From Criticisms
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green roasted Gobert for his defense on Jokic in their Game 5 loss.
Appearing as a guest analyst for TNT, Green said postgame Gobert “got cooked.”
ESPN analysts JJ Redick and Richard Jefferson came to Gobert’s defense in the “Old Man & Three” podcast on May 15.
“Jokic is, he’s the best player in the world,” Redick said. “He’s going to [expletive] score against anybody. Also, did you see the moves and the shots he was making at times? Like, oh no, maybe it’s just the offensive player is that good.”
While Jefferson pointed out that the Nuggets figured out a way to have Gobert away from the rim like how he was exploited in Utah during the playoffs, the former champion-turned-analyst agreed with Redick’s assessment.
“I don’t understand, Oh that’s your Defensive Player of the Year,” Jefferson said. “OK? Well, I’ll tell you what. You line all five of them up. The top five candidates. Jokic would do the exact same thing to every single one of them. And he has. Multiple times over.”
.@jj_redick and @Rjeff24 react to the fans who are blaming Rudy Gobert for Nikola Jokić’s incredible performance last night.
Full conversation from their live this morning: t.co/DquQlRykY8
Anthony Edwards Confident of Game 6 Win
Despite losing three in a row, Edwards’ confidence has never wavered.
He told a Nuggets locker room attendant, “See you Game 7,” per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Edwards doubled down on this when he faced the reporters after the loss.
“Super excited,” Edwards said of heading back to Minneapolis for Game 6. “You get to compete. Get to go home and play with our backs against the wall. It should be fun.”
Edwards’ confidence has the Timberwolves a minus-2.0 favorite in Game 6 at Bet 365, Iowa’s best betting site overall according to IA Betting.
The Timberwolves are hoping to extend the series and return to Denver for Game 7. They have never been to the Western Conference Finals since their first in 2004.