Consecutive losses against the Minnesota Timberwolves have Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets reeling in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
The Timberwolves followed up a solid Game 2 win by handing the Nuggets a 113-96 walloping on Thursday. Jokić’s struggling 3-point scoring was the talking point after the loss.
NBA Analyst Kevin O’Connor Tears Into Nikola Jokić After Game 3 Loss
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), analyst Kevin O’Connor called out Jokić after a tough outing on Thursday. “Nikola Jokić has been a disaster,” he wrote. “No other way to put it. Rudy Gobert is in his head in the paint. He’s also lost his 3-pointer. Making sloppy passes. Not getting stops on defense. Just a straight up horrible series so far by Jokić.”
The dissection continued in another post. “Nikola Jokić is now 5/24 from 3 in the series. Huge issue for Denver: Jokić shot 32% from 3 ever since his return from injury in January. He was at 44% prior and 42% last year. No matter the cause of the huge decline, the end result is that the 3-pointer has abandoned him for months.”
O’Connor added that the shooting woes from behind the arc were hurting the Nuggets’ offense. “And Jokic isn’t making up for it since Rudy Gobert is also locking him down any time he’s inside and he’s making uncharacteristic sloppy passes. To make matters worse, he’s not getting stops on defense either. Hard to feel any good about Denver’s chances unless Jokic stops having the worst playoff series of his career.”
The Nuggets superstar ended his evening with 27 points, but shot 7-for-26 from the field, and 2-for-10 from the 3-point line. He recorded 15 rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 35 minutes of action. While the numbers look staggering on paper, there was no doubt that the Serbian star struggled with his shooting.
The timing was worse as the Timberwolves, who came in as underdogs against a red-hot Nuggets side, are now 2-1. This shifts the pressure on Jokić, who now has to be just as effective as he was in the regular season, both as an orchestrator and as a two-way presence.
Jokić is averaging 25.3 points, 14.3 rebounds, and 7.3 assists in his three games so far. However, the struggles from the field and deep, coupled with the Timberwolves’ dominance in the paint, pose a problem for the Nuggets. Speaking to the reporters after the loss, the center stressed he needed to be better.
“They’re a really good defensive team,” Jokić said, per The Athletic. “And we couldn’t make shots. If I make a little bit of shots, then the defense is going to react. So I think that’s why I couldn’t get anybody involved. I think I needed to do a bit better job scoring, and then I think it’s going to open up for everybody else.”
All eyes will be on Jokić and the Nuggets as they look to bounce back in a crucial Game 4 at the Target Center on Saturday.
