Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets became the sixth consecutive defending champions to fail to defend their title after a 98-90 Game 7 loss to Anthony Edwards and his teammates. Jokic and the Nuggets appeared to struggle with the loss at times.

One of those times occurred late in the fourth quarter, as the Timberwolves came close to pulling off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory.

As Timberwolves All-Star Edwards insulted Denver supporters by waiving at them with time remaining in the game, Jokic charged at his opponent. LegendZ, a “X” user, allegedly leaked audio indicating that the three-time MVP questioned Edwards about it.

“Why did you wave at the crowd?” Jokic asked.

Anthony Edwards responded by pointing to the scoreboard, informing the supporters that Denver’s season was over. Nikola Jokic walked away after the brief heated exchange, as Edwards and the Timberwolves celebrated their big comeback victory.

The Nuggets had a miserable night, as they blew a 20-point second-half lead at home and lost the game 4-3. The Nuggets were clear favorites to win the West. Nonetheless, they faced their most difficult challenge against Minnesota since 2023, failing to defeat the only 50-plus win team they have faced in that time.

Nikola Jokic completed the game with 34 points on 46.4% shooting, and Anthony Edwards scored 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. “Ant-Man” didn’t have his best shooting night, going 6 of 24 from the field, but he made up for it with superb defense on Jamal Murray during the key third-quarter run.