Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic gave the rival Minnesota Timberwolves their flowers after they eliminated his squad 98-90 in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals.
"I mean, I think they're built to beat us," Jokic said, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "Just look at their roster. They have basically two All-Stars, two probably first-team defensive players. Mike Conley is the most underrated player in the NBA, probably.
"From the bench, they have a Sixth Man of the Year. ... (They are) one team that they can do literally everything. They can be big, small."
Jokic and Jamal Murray showed up for the defending champs. The newly crowned MVP finished with 34 points, 19 rebounds, and seven assists. Murray added 35 points, scoring 24 in the opening half.
Denver took a 20-point lead early in the third quarter before eventually being outscored 60-32 for the remainder of the contest.
Jokic added that a team needs "to be basically perfect to win the championship" due to the large amount of talent currently in the NBA.
After facing an 0-2 series deficit, Denver stormed back to win the next three contests. However, the Timberwolves tied the series Thursday with a 45-point Game 6 win.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden Daniels led Minnesota in scoring with 23 points apiece in Game 7. The rest of the starters scored in double digits, while Naz Reid added 11 points off the bench.
Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly cited luck as the reason for the victory, according to Youngmisuk. Connelly previously worked for the Nuggets, helping put together key pieces of the championship-winning roster before joining Minnesota in 2022.
Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks is set for Wednesday.
