25 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists! Jokic started the game with three consecutive triple-doubles, Murray scored 43 points, and Edwards missed two weeks.

On October 28, the NBA regular season ushered in a strong dialogue. The Timberwolves faced the Nuggets at home. The Timberwolves have reached the Western Conference Finals in the past two seasons. The team's second-in-command has been replaced by Randle from Towns, and Edwards' growth and leadership ceiling have increased. However, due to salary pressure, the team let go of Alexander Walker this summer, resulting in insufficient bench rotation depth. The Timberwolves had two wins and one loss in the first three games, but just before this game, the Timberwolves suffered a major blow: Edwards withdrew from the game against the Pacers due to hamstring discomfort. After examination, he was diagnosed with a right hamstring strain and will miss at least two weeks! The Nuggets had a record of 1 win and 1 loss before losing to the Warriors. Gordon scored 50 points.

However, the offseason signings that the Nuggets management had high hopes for did not seem to reach the expected level. Johnson averages 10 points per game and a 22% three-point shooting percentage. It is a bit far-fetched to expect him to play the role of defensive sweeper + lead defense, as well as a shooting point to open up space. Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown scored, but the defensive effect was not ideal. Only Varan was qualified as Jokic's substitute. A brief review of this game, Edwards' absence really hurt the Timberwolves' vitality. The Nuggets turned the tables at the beginning. After Gordon completed 2+1 with Randall, Jokic made an independent fadeaway jumper. After that, Gordon and Murray took turns to cause damage, and Jokic fed Bryan to fire from the outside. The Nuggets opened up a double-digit point difference early.

But the Timberwolves became more and more courageous in the middle. Conley made a layup against Jokic, McDaniels broke through, Shannon Jr. hit a three-pointer, and the Nuggets were quickly tied. After that, the two teams fell into a tug-of-war, with McDaniels feeling hot and Jokic on the Nuggets' side making every shot. In the first quarter, the Nuggets 34-30 the Timberwolves. The situation changed in the second quarter: Hylander and DiVincenzo started a three-pointer, Reed hit a post-up shot, Randall dunked, and the Timberwolves quickly evened the difference. In the middle, DiVincenzo and Randall continued to work hard, but Jokic was not very active in defense. DiVincenzo and McDaniels pursued the victory and stopped the Nuggets in a wave. Randall also hit a three-pointer at the end of the quarter, and the Timberwolves led the Nuggets 65-57 at halftime.

After a few minutes of a stalemate between the two sides in the third quarter, Hardaway Jr. and Murray rained three-pointers. Jokic continued to cause damage. The Timberwolves' offense gradually weakened, and Murray was still hitting three-pointers. At the end of the quarter, Murray continued to attack the basket. The Timberwolves' offense relied entirely on Reid, but Hardaway Jr. and Varane made sudden outside shots, helping the Nuggets enter the fourth quarter with an 8-point advantage. When the Timberwolves relied on Gobert and Shannon Jr. to catch up with only 3 points, Jokic trained Gobert in the military, Watson counterattacked with a steal, and after Murray scored with a throw, Watson started to rain three points. In the last few minutes, Jokic finally reached double figures in assists. He got a triple-double in each of the first three games and clocked out! In the end, the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 127-114.

Nuggets data, Jokic made 9 of 10, scored 25 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals, Murray had 43 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Hardaway Jr. had 20 points and 3 assists, Watson had 12 points and 2 rebounds, Gordon had 9 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, Johnson had 5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. According to Timberwolves data, McDaniels had 25 points, 3 rebounds and 4 blocks, Randall had 24 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, DiVincenzo had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, Conley had 10 points and 4 assists, Reed had 18 points, 7 rebounds, and Gobert had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.

The Timberwolves are a pity. The lack of Edwards has indeed had a great impact on the team, and the offense has no consistency. Although Randall + McDaniels, including Reed, all three have good hands, they are always short-lived and then broken. When Gobert faced Jokic, his performance really struggled, with fake moves and no rebound protection. The Timberwolves lost a lot of points in the transition period. Shannon Jr. + Dillingham + Hyland seemed unable to meet the team's role requirements for the seventh and eighth picks. If Edwards really misses two weeks, the Timberwolves may fall outside the 10th place.

Different from the previous two games, the two substitutes Hardaway Jr. and Watson broke out at the same time, allowing the Nuggets to win easily. Jokic has been driving the team as the main offensive point in the first half, but as usual, Jokic continued to score, and the Nuggets struggled instead. But Murray's explosion in the third quarter, combined with Hardaway Jr. and Watson, relieved the pressure on Jokic. But to be honest, as the team's third position, Cameron Johnson's performance since the start of the game has been worse than expected, and it may take time to adapt.