Rudy Gobert Is Breaking Nikola Jokic — And Everyone's Noticing

Gobert's huge night, putting the three-time MVP repeatedly in a blender, helped the Wolves take advantage of a shorthanded Nuggets side, on their way to a 2-1 series lead. Without Aaron Gordon, and Jokic tormented by Gobert, Denver needed a huge game from Jamal Murray. They did not get that, as Murray shot just 5 of 17 from the field, including missing all five of his three-point attempts.

Deservedly, Gobert earned a lot of recognition from the national press for shutting down one of the league's best players.

"Nikola Jokic has been a disaster," said Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor. "No other way to put it. Rudy Gobert is in his head in the paint. He's also lost his three-pointer. Making sloppy passes. Not getting stops on defense. Just a straight-up horrible series for Jokic."

NBA legend Magic Johnson praised Gobert on Friday, saying the Wolves' center "has been doing a great job defending one of the best NBA players today — Nikola Jokic!"

"Just trying to compete," Gobert said Thursday night when asked about what's working for him. "Like I said, he's the greatest offensive player I've guarded in my whole career, so just try to enjoy the challenge (and) make him work as much as I can. It's also a team effort. My teammates tonight, I feel like they did a great job. Jaden (McDaniels), Donte (DiVincenzo), Ayo (Dosunmu), and Julius (Randle). Everyone that came into the game gave us something defensively."

"They're big, tall, and long," Jokic said following the 7-of-26 shooting night. "They're making you think about it, with stunts (and) with (contested shots). You know, give them credit, they're really good."

Jokic admitted the shooting struggles were "frustrating" following the back-to-back losses in Games 2 and 3. According to NBA reporterJustin Russo, Jokic and Gobert have matched up for a total of 71 minutes so far in the series. Jokic is 11 of 28 from the field in those minutes, while tallying 10 turnovers.

The Ringer's Bill Simmons and Rob Mahoney reacted to the Gobert defensive masterclass by speculating that the Nuggets' season will be done shortly.

"His inability over these last two games to get anything going, whatsoever, against Rudy Gobert is a massive problem," said Mahoney. "Right now, it just doesn't look like he has many answers."

"He looked just a whiff defeated during this game, too," added Simmons. "I've seen him, there's a version of him when he knows, like, 'Alright, guys, let's go.' And maybe he'll be like that in Game 4, but this game, he really felt like he was trying to problem solve. When he can't make threes... I think it's going to be really hard."

ESPN's Brian Windhorst said he's "never seen Nikola Jokic have a more ineffective game."

Gobert and company will be looking to continue their dominant defensive performance on Saturday in Game 4. Minnesota is aiming to take a 3-1 series lead back to Denver, with the hopes of, once again, knocking out the Nuggets on their home floor as they did in Game 7 of the 2024-25 conference semifinals.