Nikola Jokic confronted Jaden McDaniels<\/a> for scoring rather than running out the clock was symbolic.\n<\/p>\nWe finally found the line that an opponent cannot cross. You can call the Nuggets horrible defenders. You can label them floppers. You can point fingers in their face and dunk on their heads.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t you dare break an unwritten rule in their presence.<\/p>\n
Really? That is what it has come to.<\/p>\n
![\"Jamal](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TDP-L-NUGGETS-TWOLVESAO2_3079x.jpg\")
Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets wipes his face during the third quarter of the Minnesota Timberwolves\u2019 112-96 win in game four of their NBA Playoffs series at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
It conjured images of Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland trying to fight Giants slugger Rafael Devers for admiring his home run last summer.\n<\/p>\n
If the Nuggets showed this much resistance in Game 3 and the first 47 minutes, 59 seconds of Game 4, they would not be in this position.\n<\/p>\n
Thursday was an embarrassment, the Nuggets pantsed at halfcourt for the world to see. Saturday was a disappointment.<\/p>\n
The Timberwolves lost Donte DiVincenzo (season-ending ruptured right Achilles) and superstar Anthony Edwards (hyperextended left knee) in the first half and Denver could not capitalize. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
How does a team get stripped of two of its best players and get better?<\/p>\n
Ayo Dosunmu.\n<\/p>\n
Acquired in February from the Bulls, Dosunmu drained 43 points in 42 minutes. He almost outscored Jokic and Jamal Murray by himself. The pair finished with 54 points, but converted only 18 of 47 attempts, including 6-for-24 in the second half.\n<\/p>\n
During an ugly stretch in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets missed 14 of 15 shots.
\n![\"Nikola](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TDP-L-NUGGETS-TWOLVESAO2_4287x.jpg\")
Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets and Julius Randle (30) of the Minnesota Timberwolves engage in a melee with a second to play as Spencer Jones (21), Jonas Valanciunas (17) and Christian Braun (0) enter the fracas during the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves\u2019 112-96 win in game four of their NBA Playoffs series at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday, April 25, 2026. Both Jokic and Randle were ejected as a result. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)\n<\/p>\n
The reason the Nuggets made David Adelman the head coach was his offensive wizardry. Nuggets Nation would like to wave a wand and see him disappear.<\/p>\n
When a team goes cold, they must find another way to win. The Nuggets could not get stops and showed no respect for Dosunmu with how they guarded him. Minnesota scored on roughly two-thirds of its possessions over the last 18 minutes.\n<\/p>\n
Adelman insisted that his team demonstrated competitive spirit, citing the make-or-break league as an explanation for the loss. That and Dosunmu going off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just feel like we are very close,\u201d Adelman said.<\/p>\n
Close to what? The edge of the cliff? To blowing up the roster? To determining when to board the Southwest Airlines C group to Cancun?\n<\/p>\n
Adelman took exception to questions from reporters at the Target Center, not appreciating the negativity about the way his \u201cteam competed.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is what we are doing now? Are the Nuggets going to start passing out Capri Suns and orange slices after games?<\/p>\n
This is so beneath them. They are former champions. Minnesota is howling. And Denver is whimpering.<\/p>\n
Does Jokic really want to end this season like this? Running down the court to confront McDaniels? The confrontation, which involved Jokic pushing McDaniels and yelling at Julius Randle, led to an ejection. Randle was also tossed.\n<\/p>\n
\u201c(It was) because he scored when everyone stopped playing,\u201d Jokic said. \u201cCome on guys, you saw what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Replays did not show evidence for suspending Jokic. That might be the only sliver of good news for Game 5 Monday night in Denver. That, and his teammates had his back.<\/p>\n
![\"General](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TDP-L-NUGGETS-TWOLVESAO1_9902x.jpg\")
General manager Jon Wallace and head coach David Adelman of the Denver Nuggets leave the floor after the Minnesota Timberwolves\u2019 112-96 win in game four of their NBA Playoffs series at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
It would have been nice if they had supported him with points. Or blocks. Or a hard foul to open Game 3 or Game 4 to put McDaniels on notice.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t like what McDaniels did. The game was over, the game was conceded both ways. In 2026, that stuff just doesn\u2019t happen anymore. That stuff happens in the \u201880s, where teams continue to score. But that\u2019s who he is.\u201d Adelman said. \u201cIf that\u2019s what they want to do, that\u2019s what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n
It had nothing to do with the loss, Adelman explained. Except it had everything to do with it. With every injury update increasingly worse on DiVincenzo and Edwards, the Timberwolves rallied around the bench guys. Found fire in their stars\u2019 absence.<\/p>\n
With Aaron Gordon playing on one leg, the Nuggets were not inspired.\u00a0When wobbled, they could not get off the ropes.<\/p>\n
It was a replay of Game 3. The Nuggets stopped going inside to Jokic, especially with Rudy Gobert out. They let the Timberwolves speed them up and dictate the tempo.<\/p>\n
And after committing one turnover in the first 24 minutes, they coughed up the ball nine times in the second half, while shooting 24%.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew they were going to be emotional coming out after the half because of the unfortunate injuries they had,\u201d guard Christian Braun said. \u201cWe have got to show some fight in Game 5. And I know we will. We are going to show up. We are going to play well. We are going to guard. We are going to be physical. We are going to rebound. It\u2019s not over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, at least they are saying the right things. The gravity of the Game 2 loss, squandering homecourt advantage, is finally clobbering them over the head.\n<\/p>\n
There are no more excuses. You cannot blame Gordon\u2019s health \u2014 give him credit for giving it a go, but it will be a shock if he plays on Monday. You cannot blame Peyton Watson\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n
The Nuggets have talent, but are not consistent. They have a deeper bench, but Adelman won\u2019t use it.<\/p>\n
That is at the essence of why the Timberwolves are on the verge of knocking the Nuggets in the first round for the first time since 2022.\n<\/p>\n
With 1:02 remaining, the full-throat crowd at the Target Center roared \u201cWolves in 5!\u201d<\/p>\n
It feels over. Not just the series. The Nuggets\u2019 run as part of the upper crust in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n
The disconnect is obvious. The players care, but can no longer control the results. The coach believes, but keeps pointing to his team\u2019s lack of offense.<\/p>\n
In the end, there is no defending the Nuggets. They can try to convince themselves they are in this position because they are not making shots.<\/p>\n
The reality is that they have shown unequivocally that they cannot take a punch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lock the door. Activate the alarm. Last one left, turn out the lights. The Nuggets\u2019 championship window unofficially…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":718306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[375,7,561,250,187,762,165,152,6,11,253,302,373,66,198,3788,574],"class_list":["post-718305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba-playoffs","tag-anthony-edwards","tag-basketball","tag-christian-braun","tag-david-adelman","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-jamal-murray","tag-latest-headlines","tag-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-nba","tag-nba-playoffs","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-nuggets","tag-rudy-gobert","tag-sports","tag-sports-columnists","tag-troy-renck","tag-western-conference"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116469333819339831","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/718306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}