Nikola Jokic showed up to Game 3 dressed like the Joker, and for 48 minutes, it looked like he was playing like one too—chaotic, confusing, and kinda self-destructive. But just like every Christopher Nolan plot twist, he redeemed himself in overtime, helping the Denver Nuggets snatch a gritty 113-104 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Semifinals. Jokic’s performance? A Shakespearean drama of bricks, brilliance, and banana-peel turnovers, with a double-double cherry on top.
Game 3s in tied playoff series are like the third act of a Marvel movie—everything’s on fire, everyone’s tired, and one bad guy (or MVP) could swing the whole plot. After getting turned into meme soup in Game 2, where the Nuggets were on the wrong side of a 43-point spanking (yes, FORTY-THREE), Jokic came out looking for revenge. And dressed like Gotham’s most iconic villain, no less.
Seriously, the man showed up in a Joker suit. Purple coat, green vest, red tie—he was one Arkham laugh away from method acting. Twitter lost its mind. “He’s taking the act a bit literally ,” one fan wrote, probably not knowing that Jokic was also about to audition for The Joker 3: Brick City Blues.
Let’s talk numbers. Jokic shot 8-of-25 from the field (yup, you read that right), went 0-of-10 from deep (he had better odds flipping coins), and somehow still finished with 20 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Oh, and eight turnovers. The man was playing hot potato like it was Thanksgiving dinner.
Nikola Jokic at halftime:
8 Points
2/9
22% FG
5 Turnovers pic.twitter.com/49VEbOu5iS
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod (@big_business_) May 10, 2025
Yet, when it mattered most—in overtime—he scored four key points to slam the door shut. Denver opened the extra period on a 7-0 run, and Jokic, despite missing a long jumper at the end of regulation, played like the three-time MVP he is. He may have been throwing up bricks all night, but he laid the foundation when it mattered.
Aaron Gordon was the unsung hero. He dropped 22 points on a sizzling 7-of-11 from the field (including 4-of-6 from deep) and dished out five assists. Michael Porter Jr. was even cleaner—21 points on 7-of-10 shooting and five threes that hit sweeter than a Looney Tunes ACME anvil. Jamal Murray led all Nuggets scorers with 27, delivering big shot after big shot like Amazon Prime with a personal vendetta.
The Thunder fought back hard, though. Jalen Williams cooked with 32 points, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled mightily, shooting just 7-of-22. Chet Holmgren had 18 and 16 boards, but his 1-of-6 from three was uglier than a DC movie review section.
Fan Reactions: Jokic’s Chaos Gets the Internet Talking
“He’s taking the act a bit literally ” After Game 2’s humiliation, where Jokic fouled out in the third quarter and ended with a -36 plus-minus—his worst ever—the pressure was on. That 43-point Game 2 loss wasn’t just a beatdown, it was a national embarrassment. The Nuggets looked like a group project where the group didn’t show up. Jokic had six turnovers in that game too, and people started questioning if he’d lost his “greatest center alive” badge. His Game 3 redemption arc was more dramatic than a telenovela finale.
“Jokić through 3 quarters.” Slow starts aren’t new for Jokic. On Jan 29 against the Knicks, he posted just 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting in a regular season loss. He was dragging more than a Windows 98 startup screen. He’s been a second-half player at times, which can get dicey in the playoffs when momentum shifts faster than NBA Twitter discourse.
“So is there going to be a national discourse over Jokić’s legacy if the Nuggets lose because he’s shooting so many 4th quarter 3s and has 8 TOs??” Legacy talk always heats up when stars stumble. Jokic’s fourth-quarter chucking spree and the eight turnovers almost handed the game away. He missed ALL ten of his three-point attempts. That’s not cold, that’s Frozen 3. Given how loud the discourse got after Game 2, another L would’ve had analysts using phrases like “overrated” and “system player” by sunrise. But in overtime, Jokic reminded everyone why he has three MVPs and a Finals MVP trophy gathering dust like a collector’s edition bobblehead.
May 5, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) loses the ball to Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) during the second quarter during game one of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
“Seen Nuggets fans all year saying Jokić has no help, but there been multiple games this postseason where they been carrying him.” Receipts don’t lie. In Game 7 against the Clippers, Jokic had just 16-10-8, and the Nuggets still won by nearly 20 thanks to a full team effort. Gordon had 22, Christian Braun dropped 21, and Murray chipped in 16. Again in Game 3, Jokic wasn’t at his best, but his teammates balled out. Porter Jr. shot like he had a cheat code, Braun and Gordon hustled on both ends, and Murray was one tiny flame away from being declared human torch.
Nikola Jokic played Game 3 like a mad scientist whose experiment went rogue—but somehow, it still worked. He was far from perfect, but his fingerprints were all over the win. From chaotic missed threes to gritty overtime buckets, this was peak Jokic drama, and we were all blessed to witness it.
Now up 2-1, Denver has stolen back momentum and will try to build off this rollercoaster win. Jokic might want to leave the Joker outfit at home next time, though. We’re all for the theatrics, but one more 0-for-10 night and even Gotham might revoke his nickname.
Ball Arena was rocking, Twitter was flaming, and Jokic’s legacy got both tested and fortified in 53 minutes of madness. If this series keeps delivering chaos like this, we might be looking at a classic.
What’s next? Probably more bricks, more buckets, and a lot more Joker memes. We’re here for it.
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