Nikola Jokic delivered a stellar performance, scoring a game-high 41 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 116-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jokic also contributed 11 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals in the game on Wednesday night.
With this win, the Denver Nuggets reclaimed the top spot in the Western Conference, leading by one game with just two regular-season matches remaining. They are now favorites to secure the number one seed and home advantage for the playoffs.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, on the other hand, are now tied for second place in the West with the Oklahoma City Thunder, who dominated the San Antonio Spurs 127-89. The Spurs were without key players like Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and Jeremy Sochan due to injuries.
In other Western Conference action, Devin Booker scored 37 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 124-108 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers are on the brink of securing a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after a 110-98 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 54 points as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat 111-92, ending the Heat’s hopes of a top-six seed.
The Milwaukee Bucks, currently in second place in the East, defeated the Orlando Magic 117-99, while the Charlotte Hornets staged a remarkable comeback from 18 points down to beat the Atlanta Hawks 115-114. The Brooklyn Nets also secured a 106-102 victory against the Toronto Raptors.
A horrific shooting in downtown Denver injured ten people just hours after fans celebrated the Nuggets’ first NBA championship win.
After the Denver Nuggets‘ historic victory over the Miami Heat on Monday night, the team’s supporters partied for hours in the streets. However, the celebrations came to an end at 12.30 am when shots were fired into the gathering near Market Street.
The incident happened approximately a mile from Ball Arena in a neighbourhood with many sports clubs that were broadcasting the NBA Finals.
Photos from Market Street on Monday night and Tuesday morning show crowds of Nuggets fans decked out in yellow and blue converging in the middle of the street.
The Denver Nuggets pulled ahead of the Miami Heat for an at-home win on Monday night (Picture: AP)
‘As far as what led up to this altercation that resulted in the shots being fired, that’s still under investigation at this time,’ Denver Police spokesperson Doug Schepman said.
He also said the incident was possibly related to the game and festivities. ‘It did occur in the area where we had largest gathering of folks celebrating during the night.’
At least ten people were wounded during in the shooting, including three that were hospitalized in critical condition.
The remaining seven people had non-life-threatening injuries, police said. This total included the suspected shooter, who also sustained a gunshot wound.
The suspected shooter is currently in police custody. They have not yet been identified or charged with a crime.
Denver Police said the incident required a ‘complex, ongoing investigation,’ which is only in its early stages.
The Nuggets beat the Miami Heat in a hard-fought Game 5 of the NBA Finals. In the last few minutes, Denver pulled ahead for a 94-89 victory.
Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic was awarded the Bill Russell Trophy and named the Finals’ most valuable player after becoming the first in history to lead the league in points, rebounds, and assists in a single postseason.
The city is scheduled to hold a parade for the Nuggets on Thursday. It is unclear if Tuesday’s shooting will have any effect on the celebration.
LeBron James endured a challenging fourth quarter during the LA Lakers’ disappointing defeat to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
The four-time MVP had a tough time finding his rhythm, missing all six of his three-point attempts, with three of them coming in the crucial final period.
In addition, James struggled with a shot that rebounded off the backboard too forcefully in the closing stages of the game. To compound matters, he faced a defensive setback as Bruce Brown managed to strip him of the ball in the dying seconds.
It was an uncharacteristically difficult performance for LeBron James, highlighting the tough circumstances he faced during the game, contributing to the Lakers’ loss.
Skip Bayless quickly pounced on his poor display with this: “LeBron James: no clutch gene.”
The Fox Sports analyst has been harping on James’ supposedly inability to come up big time. He has often reminded basketball fans that the 19x All-Star is no match to Michael Jordan when it comes to clutch situations.
James, of course, has had several game-winners and buzzer-beaters in his career in the playoffs. He just couldn’t get it done in the fourth quarter in Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets.
“King James,” who is usually deadly within point-blank range missed a layup when the score was 103-99 in favor of Denver. James’ miss led to two free throws for Jamal Murray who extended the Nuggets’ lead to 105-99.
With the Nuggets leading 108-103, the Lakers desperately pushed the ball up court with 12.6 seconds left in the game. James, however, lost the ball to Brown, which sealed the game for Denver and a 2-0 lead in the conference finals.
The Lakers lost by five points.
LeBron left six very gettable points on the board at the rim tonight with three very uncharacteristic misses. pic.twitter.com/35ctU1xFgU
Mark Jackson was forced to apologize after the NBA revealed he was the only voter who didn’t include Denver Nuggets star, Nikola Jokic in the MVP ballot.
The longtime ESPN analyst found himself in hot water after excluding Jokic from his top five.
He instead chose Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Donovan Mitchell.
Jackson issues apology over MVP
Jackson made an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio a few hours after the votes were unveiled to address the controversy, per Sports Illustrated.
He focused on the word ‘mistake’ as he attempted to do damage control, saying:
“Mistake. One thing I live by, you make a mistake, you own it. I’m not a guy that does it for clicks or to be trending. Absolute mistake made by me. I am thinking, ‘How did I make that mistake?’”
Jackson questioned after Jokic snub
However, the apology didn’t stop fans from blasting Jackson on social media.
The Western Conference Semifinals will now feature the Denver Nuggets.
In Game 5 of their best-of-seven series, they overcame an early 15-point deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-109.
With its win on Tuesday, Denver now leads the series 4-1.
Without Nikola Jokic’s genius, it would have been impossible for the Nuggets to win Game 5.
With 28 points, 17 rebounds, and 12 assists against the Wolves, he was outstanding in the final game.
It was the Joker’s second triple-double of the series. The Nuggets improved to 29-2 this season, including the playoffs, when the Serbian big man had a triple-double.
Jokic enters history books again
Jokic now has eight career triple-doubles in the playoffs.
Only the great Wilt Chamberlain has more triple-doubles by a center in NBA playoff history than Jokic with nine.
According to ESPN, Jokic is the fifth player in NBA history to record a 25-15-10 stat line in a clinching opportunity.
He joined Oscar Robertson (1963), Chamberlain (1967), James Worthy (1988), and LeBron James (2020) in that exclusive group.
Murray delivers in Game 5
Jokic got some help from his teammate Jamal Murray. He scored 35 points against the Wolves in Game 5.
He has now scored at least 35 points in seven playoff games. Only Jokic has more 35-point games in the playoffs than Murray, with nine.
The Warriors sit sixth in the Western Conference with just games remaining in the regular season.
Two of those are on the road, with Golden State 9-30 outside of San Francisco this season. That is the worst record by a defending champion in the history of the NBA.
“Most of the questions when we lose are about what went wrong, and you try to point the finger, but if we obviously knew what to do about it, we would do it,” said Stephen Curry, who finished with 21 points in Denver.
“There’s a sense of urgency on these last three games, and not only just the wins but the vibe that you create going into a playoff series.
“That does matter. We’ve got to come to a realisation that if we’re going to win or do anything in the playoffs, this kind of game can’t happen.”
Joel Embiid thinks it would be absurd if missing this week’s pivotal matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets had any impact on his MVP aspirations.
Superstar Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers is dominating the NBA with a 33.2 point scoring average per game, surpassing his previous high of 30.6 from last season.
Moreover, he averages a respectable 10.2 rebounds per game, however this is his lowest season total since 2016–17.
Due to Embiid’s absence on account of a calf injury, Denver was able to defeat Denver 116-111 behind the play of Jokic, who scored 25 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and provided 12 assists.
The triple-double made Jokic just the third player in NBA history to produce 10 games of at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in the same season, sparking debate over whether it could be a key moment in the MVP race.
After that game, Jokic said the absent Embiid would be “remembered as one of the most dominant players in the league”.
Whether Embiid can deny Jokic a third straight MVP award remains to be seen, and recency bias may help to tilt it the way of the Nuggets star, who is averaging 24.9 points, 11.9 rebounds and 9.9 assists.
Embiid’s message was a simple one – “I don’t care” – as he prioritises team success over individual glory.
The Nuggets head the Western Conference, with Philadelphia third in the East, so both main contenders for the MVP have done a lot of winning this season and will hope to do plenty more in the playoffs.
Embiid said: “If one game is going to hurt anybody’s chances, then I guess everybody should be out of it. We all have bad games. Guys miss matchups.
“That’s not the first time, and it’s not really a matchup about me and Nikola. He’s a great player, amazing player. He’s one of the best players in the league, and I’m a huge fan.
“So not playing against him was a huge bummer. But there’s a bigger goal in sight, and that’s to make sure we’re healthy for the playoffs.”
Embiid had a standout game against the Nuggets on January 28, outshining Jokic with 47 points and 18 rebounds in a Sixers win, so he is adamant there was no desire to duck another clash with Denver’s talisman.
He added on Wednesday, after returning to score 25 points in Philadelphia’s 116-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks: “I’ve got nothing to prove. The last matchup, we won, and I had whatever I had.
“To go out there and say that I’m scared after what I did the last time is kind of stupid. But, like I said, I don’t care if I win it or not. I’m just focused on trying to win a championship, and whatever happens, happens.”
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers supported Embiid’s stance, saying ahead of Wednesday’s game: “Joel’s body of work speaks for itself. You’re not judged for one game. You’re judged for the entire season of work and your team’s record and how you perform, and he’s been dominant all year.”
Looking at whether missing out last time out could harm Embiid’s MVP prospects, Rivers said it might have an impact, but he is baffled as to why that would be the case.
“Will that hurt him? I doubt it. But it could,” Rivers said. “I don’t know what people use for criteria. It seems like it changes weekly, what the real criteria is.
“Before, it was a bunch of numbers. Now, it’s wins. I’m like, ‘Well, it wasn’t wins last year’. You know what I’m saying? It just feels like, every year, it keeps changing.”
Jokic took MVP honours last season when the Nuggets finished sixth in the Western Conference.
Superstar Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets advanced toward a third straight MVP award by dominating the Portland Trail Blazers in a 122-113 victory on Tuesday.
Jokic was unstoppable on offense, scoring 36 points on 13 of 14 shots, collecting 12 rebounds, and dishing out 10 assists.
He accomplished this by recording multiple triple-doubles of 35 points while shooting at least 90% from the field, making him the only player in NBA history to do it. The only other player with even one of these games is Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain.
Jokic was supported well by Michael Porter Jr, who scored 23 points on nine-of-13 shooting, while Jamal Murray chipped in 17 points (six-of-15), seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
For the Blazers, it was another spectacular showing from the franchise’s all-time scoring leader as Damian Lillard had a game-high 44 points on 12-of-20 shooting with eight assists.
It continued a blistering run of form for Lillard, who is averaging a league-leading 39 points per game across his past six outings, although Portland have only been able to convert his stellar play into two wins from six.
With the victory, the Nuggets are now alone atop the Western Conference with a record of 31-13, which the Memphis Grizzlies can tie if they can secure their 11th consecutive win when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Only needed three quarters to get a triple-double 🤫
Jrue Holiday has set a new season-high points total in back-to-back games after putting up 37 in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 130-122 triumph at home against the Toronto Raptors.
Holiday scored a season-high 35 on Monday against the Indiana Pacers in the first leg of the Bucks’ back-to-back, and he followed it up with 37 against the Raptors.
He shot 16-of-26 from the field while adding seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block, and Fred VanVleet was just as good for Toronto.
VanVleet tied his season-high by scoring 39 points on 15-of-28 shooting, with nine rebounds and seven assists.
The Bucks are now 29-16 and occupy the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jrue Holiday becomes the first Bucks guard with back-to-back 35-point games since Michael Redd in 2006.
Joel Embiid was too big and too strong on his way to a game-high 41 points in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 120-110 road win against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Embiid shot 12-of-22 from the field and 15-of-18 from the free throw line while adding nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a comprehensive performance.
Tobias Harris was sharp in a supporting role, snatching five steals in the first half while scoring 20 points on efficient eight-of-12 shooting.
For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard made it five consecutive games with at least 24 points and a steal as he begins to recapture his All-NBA form following a string of injuries.
