Forced into injury, defending champion Denver Nuggets and owner of the MVP title Nikola Jokic not only refused to give up but also came back strongly.

Brushing off two consecutive defeats despite playing at home last week, Jokic and his teammates delivered one of their most dominant performances in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

They crushed the dark horse team Minnesota Timberwolves right in Minneapolis, winning 117-90 in Game 3 to shorten the score of the Western semi-final series to 1-2.

After a tense first half, the Denver Nuggets ended the first half with a 12-4 run to take an 8-point lead. When many Timberwolves fans waited for a comeback that they had seen many times throughout the season, the defending champion poured another bucket of cold water on them.

Denver opened the second half with a 17-5 run and created a 20-point gap. Not only did they attack well, Nikola Jokic and his teammates also defended impressively by holding the “wolf pack” to only 20 and 21 points scored through the first two rounds.

Just like that, the Timberwolves lost their rhythm in attack and lost their way on defense right from the first half of the match. No Minnesota player reached double-digit points in points other than Karl- Anthony Towns.

In contrast, the Denver Nuggets had 3-point artillery from nearly the entire team, led by Jamal Murray. The Canadian defender scored 18 of his 24 points in the first two rounds of Game 3, a number that exceeded 0 points (Game 1) and only 2 points (Game 2).

There was no comeback in this match as the Minnesota Timberwolves still seemed to struggle in attack, and the Denver Nuggets continuously widened the gap.

They reached a 27-point advantage at the end of the third quarter before eventually winning 117-90.

Anthony Edwards led the Minnesota Timberwolves with 19 points (8-15 FG). Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Mike Conley contributed another 10 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. The entire Timberwolves team has a successful shooting rate of 43.7% (31-73 FG). When it comes to long throws, things are worse with only 10-33 3PT (30.3%).

On the other side of the court, Nikola Jokic almost had a triple-double with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists along with 3 steals and 3 blocks. Jamal Murray scored 24 points along with 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Michael Porter Jr. completed the trio of Denver players reaching the 20-point mark, having 21 PTS of his own with 4-5 3PT, 6-10 FG.

Highlights the trio of Denver Nuggets stars who shined in Game 3 including Jokic (24 PTS), Murray (24 PTS) and Porter Jr (21 PTS)

The Minnesota Timberwolves completely collapsed and lost Game 3, but Anthony Edwards and his teammates still have a huge advantage. They have won 2 victories on Denver’s field, currently leading the opponent with a score of 2-1.

Game 4 taking place next Monday morning will be the pivotal match of the entire Western semi-final series for both. If the Timberwolves win, they will be closer than ever to the Western Conference finals series.

If the Denver Nuggets can repeat what they did in Game 3, this semi-final series will become extremely worth watching with a high possibility of having to advance to Game 7.

Look back at the main developments of this match here