Spencer Jones laid the groundwork for playoff minutes back at training camp. “He was hacking the whole time,” Bruce Brown said. Enough to knock out Julian Strawther’s tooth.

It was The Other Guys who delivered. It was The Other Guys who turned passive into personal.

The heel, on Monday night, just could not shake the foul stench.

The Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-113 in Game 5 of their first-round NBA playoff series at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday night, April 27, 2026.

If a technical foul was the punishment, then so be it, Christian Braun decided. It was worth the satisfaction of the crime: a bit of hanging on the rim after a dunk, a sly finger-point at Jaden McDaniels.

“Thought the league did an outstanding job adjudicating that situation,” Chris Finch said. “Honestly, I’m not mad at Jokic. I think both players, having coached both, are fierce competitors.”