A single remark from McDaniel sparked a bloody incident.

In today's three playoff games, all three matches saw underdogs triumph, and the manner of victory was largely similar.

The Raptors' win over the Cavaliers was a comprehensive rout; throughout the game, the Raptors maintained excellent perimeter pressure and defensive rotations. Barnes and Barrett each scored 33 points with explosive offensive efficiency, complemented by Boilers' superb finishing at the rim and switching defense. In the final quarter, bench surprise Batel hit consecutive three-pointers, leaving the Cavaliers utterly defeated today.

The Hawks' victory over the Knicks was a thoroughly dominant display of size bullying. At first glance, the Knicks have forwards like OG and Bridges, but compared to the Hawks' JJ, Daniels, Kuminga, and Okongwu, they fall short.

The Hawks executed a perfect strategy targeting Brunson, and CJ hit another crucial shot. Bridges of the Knicks missed every shot and became a liability, while Towns once again couldn't get the ball in the final quarter. In a one-point loss, Towns had a +22 plus-minus rating, a frustrating outcome.

The game between the Nuggets and Timberwolves felt "off" from the start. Jokic was focused solely on scoring from the opening, showing intense offensive desire, unlike his usual approach of orchestrating the game early by facilitating teammates to control the tempo.

However, Jokic's offensive performance today was arguably one of the worst in his career. He missed his first six attempts; you rarely see Jokic so offensively ineffective. He couldn't hit from outside, couldn't penetrate inside, and was completely stifled by Gobert.

Not just Jokic, the entire Nuggets team struggled to score today, managing only 4 points in the first seven minutes, allowing the deficit to widen rapidly. It's uncommon to see Jokic so overwhelmed—getting blocked emphatically by Gobert, failing from the perimeter, displaying extremely frustrated body language, committing passing errors, and worse, the team's defense collapsing.

After the last game, McDaniels commented on the Timberwolves' offense: "Target Jokic, Murray, all the poor defenders. Hardaway, Johnson, Gordon, the whole team." The reporter asked, "Are they all poor defenders?" McDaniels replied, "Yes, they are all poor defenders."

This game proved with action that the Nuggets are indeed a team with poor defense. The Timberwolves relentlessly attacked the Nuggets' interior, with McDaniels leading the charge. Edwards, limited by a knee injury, played only 24 minutes, but the Timberwolves' aggressiveness remained undiminished.

Randell attacked, Hyland attacked, Dosunmu shot 10 for 15, all his points coming from within the paint, leading the team with 25 points and 9 assists. The Timberwolves overwhelmed the Nuggets.

Gordon's absence today worsened the Nuggets' size disadvantage. There was no one to shield Jokic or serve as a reliable finishing point for his passes. Once the Nuggets' perimeter was breached, Jokic faced the wolves' onslaught directly, and his weakness in rim protection was magnified.

Today, Jokic wasn't just poor at rim protection; he had no standout aspect. He shot 7 for 26 overall, 2 for 10 from three-point range, with mid-to-long-range shooting disastrous, posting his worst playoff shooting percentage ever. He could only score sporadically over Gobert. Embiid would likely save this game footage as evidence of Jokic's playoff slump.

Despite the Nuggets' overall poor performance today, Jokic was the root of all issues, starting 0 for 6 and playing unlike himself. Perhaps McDaniels' remark truly angered him, prompting an early aggressive attempt against the Timberwolves, but it backfired.

Mid-season, Jokic likely returned early to meet the 65-game threshold, leading to suboptimal form post-recovery. This slump peaked in Games 2 and 3 of the first round, resulting in the Nuggets trailing 1-2 against the Timberwolves.

For the Nuggets, this isn't the end; they've reversed 1-3 series deficits before. However, Gordon's injury status is uncertain, Watson's return is unlikely, and the Nuggets' size disadvantage against the Timberwolves is undeniable. The Timberwolves will surely persist with interior attacks; what countermeasures can the Nuggets devise?

As the Nuggets grapple with frustration, might a thought arise: if they had lost to the Spurs in the final regular-season game, they'd be facing the Rockets now.

"You chose this, idol."