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Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have one of the best two-man games in the NBA. In the fourth quarter, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ two-man defense of Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels shut them down.

The Denver Nuggets led by 19 points, but the Timberwolves came back to tie the game by halftime. In the fourth quarter, Jokic and Murray combined for just four points, and the Wolves evened the series with a 119-114 win.

Minnesota Timberwolves defense beat Denver Nuggets offense

After Christian Braun’s dunk with 5:57 left gave the Nuggets a three-point lead and forced a Minnesota timeout, Murray re-entered the game. For the next five minutes, Murray and Jokic proceeded to miss their next eight shots, with Denver’s only points coming on an Arron Gordon three-pointer and a Braun free throw. Most possessions, no other Nuggets even touched the ball.

The Jokic-Murray combination has traditionally been very effective, but it usually doesn’t have to go against two elite defenders like McDaniels and Gobert, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year. Over and over, Jokic tied a hook shot or a layup, and over and over, Gobert thwarted him. Twice, an exhausted-looking Jokic settled for three-pointers and missed them.

The one exception came with a minute to go, when Jokic finally gave up on shooting over Gobert and delivered a driving dunk over the “Stifle Tower.”