Anthony Edwards Perfectly Summed Up Jokic's Dominance With Three Words

All the Timberwolves star could do is throw his hands up in disbelief.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards defends Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic during Game 4. / Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

There wasn't much the Minnesota Timberwolves could do to stop three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić in Game 5 on Tuesday night at Ball Arena.

Jokić went off for 40 points—his highest total in this year's playoffs—on an efficient 15-of-22 shooting and tallied 13 assists and seven rebounds, steering the Denver Nuggets to a 112–97 win over Minnesota.

After the game, Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards just threw up his arms in disbelief when discussing Jokić's heroic effort.

"I just laugh," Edwards said to reporters in Denver. "That's all I can do. I can't be mad, because he's good, man. I think I said that after Game 1, when we won, and Game 2. He's the MVP. He's the best player in the NBA; he showed it the last three games, three games in a row. He did it tonight."

Jokić and the Nuggets surprisingly dropped the first two games of the Western Conference semifinal series at home, but they've rallied back to win the next three and take a 3–2 series lead heading into Game 6. Jokić, who committed 11 turnovers in the first two games, is averaging 33.0 points, 9.7 assists and 9.3 rebounds over the last three matchups.

"He was special tonight," Edwards said. "I got to give him his flowers. I don't know what we were supposed to do."

Edwards and the Timberwolves need to discover a solution for Jokić's greatness quickly, as they face elimination on Thursday when they host the Nuggets in Game 6 at Target Center.