Nikola Jokic Poised To Bounce Back For Nuggets, Adelman Says

The Minnesota Timberwolves moved 2-1 ahead in their playoff series after beating the Denver Nuggets 113-96 in Game 3, as Nikola Jokic endured one of the least efficient shooting displays of the playoffs, though assistant coach David Adelman expressed full belief in a strong response.

The defeat marked the first time since January that the Nuggets failed to reach 100 points, and their offence stalled from the start, with Denver opening the night 3-of-21 from the field and scoring just 11 points in the first quarter, their lowest-scoring period this season.

Jokic still posted 27 points and 15 rebounds, yet the performance was highly wasteful by usual standards, as Jokic converted only seven of 26 field-goal attempts and missed 19 shots overall, recording four turnovers against three assists during a difficult offensive outing.

This game was the first in Jokic’s career where Jokic took at least 26 shots but made seven or fewer, while Jamal Murray also struggled, finishing on 16 points after hitting only five of 17 attempts and going 0-of-5 from three-point range in the loss.

The problems did not start in Game 3, as Jokic also found scoring late in Game 2 difficult, when the Nuggets were outscored by 10 points across the final seven minutes and Jokic went one-of-seven in that closing stretch, missing a key chance to secure that contest.

Adelman stressed that off nights are part of the playoffs and backed Jokic to respond, explaining that Denver’s supporting cast also must adjust with smarter screening to help free Jokic and Murray, and to create better ball movement and open three-point opportunities.

"He had a tough night," Adelman said. "It happens to players. This guy's played a million playoff games. There's nights that are poor. He'll bounce back. Everyone needs a day to understand we didn't play well offensively. I think to get [the role players] going, they have to screen better. If you can free up your best players, that's going to bring rotations. That's going to bring a low man. That leads to ball movement 3s."

Across the series, Jokic is 5-of-24 from beyond the arc, and Denver’s broader shooting slump has added pressure to each offensive trip, with the Game 3 defeat leaving the Nuggets needing a quicker start and stronger efficiency to pull level in the matchup.

Jokic admitted the early struggles shaped the contest and highlighted Minnesota’s defence in that spell, saying: "When you open the game like that, the easy ones don't go," Jokic said. "Really good defensive [first] quarter by them, really bad offensive quarter by us."