Denver Nuggets head coach Micahel Malone showered praise on his superstar Nikola Jokic after their comprehensive 112-97 win against Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. After losing the first two matches of the Western Conference semifinals, the reigning champions have bounced back strongly to take a 3-2 lead in the series.
Jokic scored 40 points and added 13 assists for the Nuggets. Furthermore, the talisman accumulated seven rebounds with no turnovers as he played an instrumental role in the team’s win.
“He did everything for us tonight,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “And it was fun to watch.”
Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards was full of praise for Nikola Jokic as the MVP came up with another impressive show.
“I just laugh. That’s all I can do,” Edwards said of watching Jokic go off for 16 points and assist on four other baskets in the third quarter when the Nuggets seized control for yet another rout.
“I can’t be mad,” Edwards said. “He’s good, man. I think I said that after Game 1 when we won, and Game 2, he’s the MVP. He’s the best player in 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.”
On the other hand, Aaron Gordon added 18 points and 10 boards, and Jamal Murray scored 16 but the latter said there is no need to do anything special when Jokic is playing like that.
“If Jokic’s scoring like that, there’s no need to do anything special,” Murray said.
“He’s amazing,” Murray said, “just the way he picks apart the game and reads the game and trusts his teammates. I’m guessing that for the big fella getting the trophy tonight probably motivated him a little bit. Just being at home was a lot of fun, the place was rocking, kind of felt the energy and he definitely had it going.”
The sixth game of the series will be played on Thursday.
