They did it. For all intents and purposes, outside of a little run in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets played four quarters of consistent, defensive basketball in their 125-113 Game 5 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves. More importantly, they played the best defense of the series and showed that, yet again, you cannot count out the Denver Nuggets, anchored by Nikola Jokic, in a seven-game series until it is actually over. Fans had been begging to see this in Game 5. They had grit, and we want more of it in Game 6 and beyond. It was such a fine sight to see.
The Nuggets played hard basketball
That grit seemed to be missing on defense in the three prior losses. The Nuggets kept the Timberwolves to just 50 points in the paint, the lowest total of the series. They had 6 blocks, and Aaron Gordon's replacement in the starting lineup, Spencer Jones, had three of them to go along with three steals in the elimination game.
They brought the physicality that had been missing in the prior three losses, and it showed. The Nuggets, who were dead last in the league at turnovers forced in the regular season at 11.8 per game, forced an astounding 25 turnovers, and they grabbed a series-high 16 steals. They converted those 25 turnovers into 35 points.
Where had this defense been hiding? It was lying dormant with Nikola Jokic's three ball, which is still dormant, but if they can find the defensive grit that kept the Timberwolves off balance all night, then surely he can find his three-ball, too.
The Nuggets had a different swagger
The Nuggets seemed to have a totally different vibe, energy, and swagger from the outset of the game. The notoriously slow-starting Nuggets got off to a great start and had a 5-point lead after the first quarter on the backs of 6 of the 16 steals.
The tone was different from the outset, and you could tell the Timberwolves were going to have a tough time defending Jokic without their starting backcourt applying the defensive pressure that had been present in the last three games. Jokic had 6 first-quarter assists, and he finished the game with 16, the most he's ever had against the Timberwolves in the playoffs.
The energy was infectious. Jones went 4-5 from three for 20 points, and the extra spacing Jokic found led to the Nuggets' best shooting game of the series, finishing at 56.6% from the floor. And the Nuggets had their best three-point shooting game of the five, finally getting closer to regular-season range at 37.9%.
It was a delight watching the Nuggets finally look like the Nuggets in this series. Even in Game 1, there was something off. Not in Game 5. The Nuggets need to carry the momentum to Minnesota, get this win, bring the series back to Denver for Game 7, and give the home crowd a chance to push them into the next round. They kicked the door back open on their season. Time to capitalize on it, or the door closes.
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