David Adelman didn't give Nikola Jokić or Jamal Murray a breather with the Thunder on the ropes. He should regret that.

Nikola Jokić is the best basketball player on the planet, and he was also, importantly, the NBA's best player this season. But he is also almost certainly going to fall short in MVP voting to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for reasons that were on full display in Game 5.

Nikola Jokić lived up to his nickname on Friday, arriving at the Ball Arena wearing a Joker-inspired purple and green suit before helping the Denver Nuggets to a dramatic, overtime 113-104 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of their playoff series.

May, and we still do not yet (officially) know who the 2025 NBA MVP is. The likely winner is Oklahoma City Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who helped pace the Thunder to a stellar 68-win regular season campaign.

Denver was last in the league in 3-point attempts per game during the regular season (31.9), but that number has jumped to 38.5 3PA in the four contests against OKC. In their first-round series versus the LA Clippers, the Nuggets fired up an average of just 29.0 3PA across seven games.

Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokić has done it all in the last few seasons. He has won three of the last four Most Valuable Player awards, winning in the 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2023-24 seasons, has been selected to the All-Star team in each of the last seven seasons and perhaps,

Gordon wasn't wrong about officials catching Jokić in the act. The Nuggets' big man fouled out of the contest in the third quarter, essentially ending any hope of a Denver comeback. Jokić finished the game with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.