Nuggets survive Game 5 behind Jokić

Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets kept their season alive Monday night, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-113 in Game 5. (nba.com) (espn.com) Denver had entered the night down 3-1 in the first-round series and facing elimination at Ball Arena. The win cut Minnesota’s lead to 3-2 and sent the matchup back to Minneapolis for Game 6 on Thursday, April 30. (nba.com) (espn.com) Jokić finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists for his 23rd career playoff triple-double. Jamal Murray scored 24 points, and Spencer Jones added 20 while filling in with Aaron Gordon out injured. (nba.com) (espn.com) Minnesota had taken control of the series two nights earlier with a 112-96 Game 4 win in Minneapolis. That result put Denver on the brink after the Timberwolves got 43 points from reserve guard Ayo Dosunmu. (espn.com) Game 5 turned when Denver recovered its usual offense around Jokić’s passing and got enough secondary scoring to punish Minnesota’s help defense. NBA.com’s takeaways said Jokić “re-entered triple-double land” as Denver found just enough scoring to avoid elimination. (nba.com) The Timberwolves were also short-handed. ESPN’s recap described Minnesota as injury-riddled, with Denver taking advantage to post its highest point total of the series. (espn.com) The result keeps alive a series that had swung hard toward Minnesota after Denver lost three straight. It also moved Jokić past another playoff marker, with only Magic Johnson and LeBron James ahead of him in career postseason triple-doubles. (sports.yahoo.com) (nba.com) Now the pressure shifts to Thursday in Minneapolis, where Minnesota gets another chance to close out the series and Denver tries to force Game 7 back at home. (espn.com)