In the wake of Tuesday night's double-overtime instant classic at Ball Arena, Timberwolves players were in awe of what they had just witnessed from three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
He dropped 61 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists on 62/55/79 percent shooting splits — the most points scored in a triple-double in NBA history. To do it, he played 53 of the game's 58 minutes, including the final 41 after a brief five-minute rest to begin the second quarter. It was absolute dominance and basketball wizardry that took everything Minnesota could possibly muster (and a couple crucial gifts from Russell Westbrook) to overcome by a single point.
"I told him, bro, he's incredible," said Julius Randle, who spent much of the night guarding Jokic, especially after Rudy Gobert fouled out. "Like, that dude is absolutely ridiculous, bro. His touch around the rim. ... That s*** was unbelievable, man. I can't lie. Hats off to him. He's shooting turnarounds off the wrong foot, fading to his right, he's doing all type of crazy s*** out there. I don't even know how to explain it."
"He's making a good run for MVP," said Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who happens to be the cousin of the other leading MVP candidate, OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. "You guys know who I got, but he's making it tough, for sure. Star player he is, always making the right play, you gotta respect it, gotta tip my hat to him."
As usual, it was Anthony Edwards who delivered the line of the night.
"Nikola Jokic, bruh, oh my god," said Edwards after scoring 24 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and the two overtime periods. "He might be the best basketball player I've ever seen close up — besides myself to myself. He's incredible."
First thing out of Anthony Edwards postgame:
"That might’ve been the best game of my life I’ve been a part of. Nikola Jokic, bruh, oh my God." pic.twitter.com/IIwrAepwO6
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) April 2, 2025
Jokic, who has always shown a lot of respect to Edwards and Minnesota, returned the praise.
"That's funny," Jokic said when told about Ant's 'besides myself to myself' line. "He's really special. We did a really good job (on him) in the first half, but he just took off (late in the game), and that's what superstars do. That's why he's a special person and a special player in this league."
The Wolves have now won six in a row against the Nuggets, dating back to last year's playoffs. They're just the third team to ever go 4-0 against Jokic in one regular season. But after holding him relatively in check, by his standards, over the first three meetings this season (27-7-9 per game), they had basically zero answers for him on Tuesday night.
"We was just hoping he missed," Edwards said.