Missing Aaron Gordon wasn’t the only issue the Denver Nuggets had in Game 3.

The Minnesota Timberwolves completely handled Denver, 113-96, Thursday, April 23, taking a 2-1 series lead over the No. 3-seeded Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.

Throughout the game, offense was the issue, with three starters — Cameron Johnson, Spencer Jones and Christian Braun — combining to score just 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

It was a team effort, but Minnesota’s anchor down low, center Rudy Gobert, had a special night.

Gobert was a force on defense, especially on Nuggets All-Star and Most Valuable Player finalist Nikola Jokić. This has come on the heels of Gobert publicly expressing his displeasure that he was not named a finalist for the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award, which went to Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama.

Jokić did end up with 27 points, but it came on an inefficient 7-of-26 (26.9%) shooting night, including a 2-of-10 showing from 3-point range.