With the Nuggets up 3-2 in the series, but losing 93-63 to the Timberwolves with 9:52 left in the fourth quarter during Game 6 of the Western Conference semi-final round, Nikola Jokic was subbed out, as head coach Mike Malone emptied out the bench amid the blowout.
After coming off the floor, Jokic sat down on the bench for a moment, but then got right back up, deciding to stand and watch the rest of the game. Important to note, around the same time that Jokic left the game, the Timberwolves went on a 24-0 run.
Fans reacted to the images of 29-year-old Jokic eerily looking onto the court as his team lost the game by a total point margin of 45 points, 115-70.
Nikola Jokic didn’t sit down once during the 4th quarter of Game 6 in Denver’s 45-point blowout LOSS vs. Minnesota 😳
The reigning champions scored just 9 PTS in the 4th…
What’s Jokic thinking when standing there? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/aA88qb27g7
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) May 17, 2024
Following the game, reporters asked Jokic why he was standing the final 10 minutes of the game, in which he responded.
"Just to be warm so I can lift after," Jokic said.
Jokic went on to say it was a "great loss," which had reporters questioning the Serbian big man's english. How could it be great?
But then the 2023-24 MVP clarified, "They destroyed us, and you should learn from it... They beat our a**. They were better than us in every segment of the game. We need to take it and accept it. Be better next time... When you lose by 45, it's not something that happens every day."
Jokic then made a joke about the blowout, as to keep in mind, the Nuggets only lead during the first five minutes of the game.
"Actually, we had them like 9-2 score, right? Fun," Jokic laughed. "Didn't look good for them in that period you know... But since then it was a one-team show."
The problem is that Jokic, 22 points and nine rebounds, didn't get much help, especially from his counterpart Jamal Murray, who shot 4-for-18 from the field and 2-for-7 from deep, scoring only 10 points. Murray, who appears to be playing through injuries, is just averaging 15.7 points this series (38.2% FG; 33.3% 3PT).
Nevertheless, the Canadian says that the past is the past, and he is looking onto the next Game 7 matchup.
After being unable to close out the series in the Game 6 elimination game, but rather losing by an embarrassing 45 points, the Nuggets will have to re-group as they prepare for their last face-off vs. the Timberwolves in the winner-take-all game, on Sunday, May 19.
The second-seeded Nuggets will host the third-seeded Timberwolves in Denver, and whoever wins advances to the Western Conference Finals.
"It's all about the mindset now," Murray said. "All that's behind us, all those games we're talking about, all behind us. Now it's just Sunday, who wins those 48 minutes, and how are we going to do that."
