Jokic gets the flowers but Nuggets depth is massively outperforming Minnesota

Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are difference-makers in the series.

May 14, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) knocks the ball loose / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Scoring 40 points and dishing out 13 assists with no turnovers is a good way to make sure you get your flowers, but Nikola Jokic isn't the only reason the Denver Nuggets have reclaimed the best-of-seven series lead after falling into an 0-2 hole against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

While Jokic toyed with the Timberwolves in Denver's Game 5 win Tuesday night, teammates in his shadow were making big-time plays – just like they did to help the Nuggets beat the Timberwolves in Minneapolis in Games 3 and 4. There are three teammates in particular who stand out: Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Stats Games 3-5	Gordon	Braun	Caldwell-Pope
Points	58	26	31
Rebounds	19	11	10
Assists	16	3	11
Blocks	2	2	2
Steals	4	1	2
Turnovers	4	1	2
Shooting	23-33	9-16	10-20
3-pointers	5-7	3-5	5-11

Jokic and Murray are the 1-2 punch and Michael Porter Jr. is a very strong third scoring option, but when Gordon, Braun and Caldwell-Pope have it going, the Nuggets appear to be almost unbeatable.

Getting consistent performances up and down the lineup has helped Denver post absurd offensive ratings the last three games, posting an unreal 126 points per 100 possessions in Game 3, 123 in Game 4 and 122 in Game 5.

Minnesota has gotten consistent performances all season from Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley. But with Conley out with a sore Achilles Tuesday night, the Nuggets were able to take Edwards out of the game – he made just five of 15 shots – and lack of production from role players that hurt the Wolves in Games 3 and 4 echoed again in Game 5.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker was good in Game 5 after rough performances in Games 3 and 4. Kyle Anderson has had a terrible series and Naz Reid has been inconsistent. Take a look....

Stats Games 3-5	Alexander-Walker	Anderson	Reid
Points	22	5	26
Rebounds	5	2	8
Assists	10	4	1
Blocks	2	0	1
Steals	0	3	1
Turnovers	4	2	1
Shooting	8-24	2-6	10-23
3-pointers	4-15	0-0	2-8

The woeful combined showings by players the Timberwolves have relied on for balance has been a killer. Especially after Reid totaled 30 points and hit six 3-pointers in the first two games, and Alexander-Walker had 19 points and hit five triples in Games 1 and 2.

The Timberwolves face a must-win Game 6 Thursday at Target Center. Edwards has to be better and he should be no matter what, but especially if Conley is able to overcome the Achilles strain. But none of it may matter if Denver's depth continues to crush Minnesota's depth.

The champs have shown up in a big way. Can Minnesota match them and force a Game 7?