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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

When the buzzer sounded Monday night, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets perhaps felt the exact feeling they experienced May 18, 2024. 

The day they blew the largest lead in a Game 7 in NBA history.

On April 20, 2026, the Nuggets did something similar by surrendering a 19-point lead. Again at home. Again delivering pain to the Ball Arena fans who were letting off wide-mouth screams when their team’s lead reached its pinnacle. 

There were plenty of other storylines to come out of the Game 2 loss for Denver.

Nuggets fans questioned head coach David Adelman’s rotations, the bench put up another subpar performance, Jamal Murray and Jokic’s horrific fourth quarter … and then there was the Rudy Gobert versus Jokic discussion.

These two giants were the focal point of a large conversation following the game. That has only intensified as we approach Game 3 in Minnesota.

Should the Nuggets Be Worried About Nikola Jokic?

The only time worry and Jokic fell in the same sentence was when the three-time NBA MVP suffered a lower-leg injury back in late December that cost him roughly a month of the season.

Otherwise, it has been mostly flowers and rose petals. The guy only averaged a triple-double in the regular season (again) and steered the Nuggets to a double-digit game winning streak entering the playoffs. 

But the conversation around Jokic has changed following Denver’s Game 2 loss.

Jokic shot just 8-for-20 overall and 1-for-7 from the 3-point line. He turned the ball over three times and was a no-show in the fourth quarter. 

And Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, bottled up the former MVP, limiting him to just 1-for-8 shooting when matched up with Jokic. 

GettyPHOENIX, ARIZONA – MARCH 24: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets.

Nuggets fans were especially frustrated with Jokic’s lack of offensive aggressiveness to start the game. The 31-year-old big man didn’t attempt his first shot of the night until nearly nine minutes into the game. He took just four shots the entire first half.

Lump that with Gobert’s defensive aggressiveness and how he was able to cage Jokic’s attack, Denver fans are wondering if Jokic’s tentative shot selection and inefficiency against Gobert in Game 2 is a cause for concern in Game 3 and potentially beyond.

Ryan Blackburn, a Nuggets reporter, discussed this on a recent episode of the “Locked on Nuggets” podcast. 

“It’s been a tentative Jokic,” Blackburn said. “It’s been a Jokic that’s doing a lot of spin moves, that’s fading away from the basket a lot, that’s trying to go around Gobert and giving him a lot of respect.

Added Blackburn: “Some of the issues is that he is not around the rim and he hasn’t shot the ball well from 3. … Taking and averaging seven 3s a game is not super encouraging.”

Has Minnesota Discovered the Blueprint?

It is often said that a great player can only be slowed down, not stopped. 

Just glancing at the Game 2 box score confirms that Jokic was indeed not “shut down” but held below his standards. Gobert’s defense unquestionably had a big hand in that.

Although Gobert has had some shining one-on-one defensive moments with Jokic, he hasn’t been alone in suppressing the former MVP. 

The Timberwolves possess length and athleticism that the Nuggets simply cannot match in crucial facets of the game. 

Gobert does a great job of holding his ground, but the lurking Naz Reid from the baseline, the ambushing Anthony Edwards from behind, or the swiping Jaden McDaniels can force Jokic to think twice before making his next move. It’s perhaps what moved him to pass the ball to Christian Braun when Jokic could’ve taken the same floater he has hit a million times before. 

Expect the Wolves to apply that same pressure and intensity on Jokic in Game 3. And now that they’ll have cheering fans on their side, it sure feels like the Nuggets have a tall mountain to climb if they want to avoid going down in the series.