Nikola Jokic & Spencer Jones' historic stats lead Nuggets to 3-2 series vs. Timberwolves originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Coach David Adelman took the lack of Anthony Edwards for the NBA Playoffs as an opportunity. Now, the Denver Nuggets inch closer as their series go to 3-2 in the first round. Nikola Jokic expectedly put up big numbers while Spencer Jones rose to the occasion. One of them even got a feat that only Hakeem Olajuwon and Shawn Marion touched.

The Nuggets dominated this NBA Playoffs Game 5 right from the tip. By halftime, they were up by 13 points against the Timberwolves and it was just a merciless scoring outburst after that.

Nikola Jokic had an insane 27-point, 16-assist, and 12-rebound game. The Nuggets superstar also had an insane defensive effort and secured two blocks. This now marks the 19th triple-double that Jokic produced in the NBA Playoffs since 2020. He leads all players in that category. In fact, Jokic equals the combined NBA Playoffs triple-doubles of LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Doncic who rank second to third in postseason triple-doubles since the turn of the decade, per StatMuse.

Spencer Jones, on the other hand, became the unexpected secondary leader of the Nuggets when Jokic was not playing. He scored 20 points by knocking down seven of his nine shots from the field while also grabbing three steals and three blocks. Jones joins Hakeem Olajuwon and Shawn Marion as the the only three players in NBA Playoffs history to log a 20-point, three-steal, and three-block game on 75+ % efficiency.

Game 5 was a masterclass for Coach David Adelman and the Nuggets. Can they pull off another win as this NBA Playoffs series heads to the Timberwolves home court for Game 6?