DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets rediscovered both their offensive identity and their defensive intensity just in time to save their season.
Nikola Jokic snapped out of his prolonged funk with a triple-double, Spencer Jones provided a spark while subbing for injured Aaron Gordon, and the Nuggets staved off elimination with a chippy 125-113 win over the injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their playoff series Monday night.
“They’re a championship team. They have championship DNA,” said Julius Randle, who led Minnesota with 27 points. “They’re going to come out and have a sense of pride on their home court. They did that tonight. So, credit to them. We get to go back to Minnesota and have a chance to close it out.”
Game 6 is Thursday night at Target Center, where the Wolves beat the Nuggets twice in this playoff round.
The Timberwolves were without their starting backcourt of Anthony Edwards (hyperextended knee) and Donte DiVincenzo (ruptured Achilles), both of whom got hurt in Game 4.
The Wolves briefly lost center Naz Reid to a rolled right ankle late in the third quarter Monday night.
DiVincenzo underwent surgery Sunday, and Edwards is out indefinitely.
An MRI confirmed the absence of structural damage, meaning Edwards could return to action if the Timberwolves advance.
Game 4 star Ayo Dosunmu added 18 points for Minnesota, but Rudy Gobert was finally neutralized. He scored his only bucket with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter with the Wolves trailing by 25.
The Nuggets need to win the next two games to become just the 14th of 299 teams facing a 3-1 deficit to come back to win an NBA playoff series. Denver was the last team to accomplish the feat, doing it twice in the bubble in 2020, against the Jazz and Lakers.
“I think we’re a multidimensional team that can win a variety of ways,” said Jones, who scored 20 points and keyed a third-quarter spurt that gave Denver its big cushion.
Jokic had 27 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds for Denver, which trimmed its deficit to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.
Jamal Murray scored 24 points as the Nuggets, who led the NBA in scoring, enjoyed a breakout after being held under 100 points twice in Minneapolis.
Jokic posted his 23rd playoff triple-double, third on the career list, as the Nuggets stopped a three-game skid and played the way they did most of the regular season in securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
Jaden McDaniels, whose meaningless layup in the final seconds of Game 4 drew the wrath of Jokic and led to a dustup that resulted in ejections and fines and only added more fuel to an already-heated playoff rivalry, got into early foul trouble and scored 13 points. He was razzed by the Ball Arena crowd every time he touched the ball.
“We just ended up losing the day,” McDaniels said, “but we’re going to win the next one.”
