Jokic wins MVP and Nuggets take first place in West Division

Will Nikola Jokic win his third NBA MVP today? The Denver Nuggets are confident they can finish the season atop the NBA Western Conference thanks to a crucial 116-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The great Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets are currently in second place with a record of 56 wins and 24 losses, while the Timberwolves are in second place with a record of 55 wins and 25 losses, but if they end up tied with Denver, the Nuggets would be favored on the tiebreaker criteria, while the Oklahoma City Thunder also have 55 wins. They are in 3rd place with 25 losses.

The Nuggets and Timberwolves, who entered this game tied for first place in the West Division, faced off in what could not have been a more decisive duel, and the Serbian put on an MVP-worthy performance (his own record was a double, close to a triple). case).

Jokic had 41 points (an impressive 16-for-20 from the field), 11 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, repeatedly eating up defensive specialists like Rudy Gobert and causing them to lose their balance. Ta.

Jamal Murray had 20 points and six assists and Michael Porter Jr. had 18 points and eight rebounds for the reigning NBA champions, who are celebrating their second consecutive championship as No. 1 in the West Division, but the defense gave up six plugs. It was a problem for Peyton Watson. .

Despite the crucial advantage at the end, the victory was far from easy for the Nuggets. The Nuggets struggled at times and could only stay on the scoreboard with an incendiary 22-7 run midway through the fourth quarter.

The Timberwolves, looking to get back injured Karl-Anthony Towns this week, came away high, with Anthony Edwards (25 points), Mike Conley (19 points) and Rudy Gobert (13 points, 15 rebounds). was used as a reference player.

The face-off between Jokic and Edwards continued throughout the game and was the main reason why they reached the final quarter with a minimal advantage (83-80), at which point the home team broke the match. A partial score in favor of the champions quickly became 95-87, and the Wolves were left unresponsive in a May rainy game, unable to respond to their biggest disadvantage of the entire game.

A part of the fully developed Nuggets closed out the game in style thanks to the performance of Christian Braun.

There are only two games left, and the other two will be at home, but the Nuggets have a more favorable schedule. They will play the Spurs in San Antonio on Friday and the Grizzlies in Memphis on Sunday (both teams are on long postseason losses).

Minnesota has two games remaining, both at home against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday and against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, which could be played on this day to avoid a West play-in.