David Adelman didn't give Nikola Jokić or Jamal Murray a breather with the Thunder on the ropes. He should regret that.

Jokić played the entire second half as Denver rode it stars. But fatigue was evident as OKC rallied for the pivotal Game 5 win.

Nikola Jokić is the best basketball player on the planet, and he was also, importantly, the NBA's best player this season. But he is also almost certainly going to fall short in MVP voting to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for reasons that were on full display in Game 5.

May, and we still do not yet (officially) know who the 2025 NBA MVP is. The likely winner is Oklahoma City Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who helped pace the Thunder to a stellar 68-win regular season campaign.

The Denver Nuggets survived a very competitive first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Clippers, but they left no doubt that they're the better team. They ran past the Clippers in Game 7 to the tune of a 120-101 victory, and they will now face the Oklahoma City Thunder in round two of the playoffs beginning Monday evening.

Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokić has done it all in the last few seasons. He has won three of the last four Most Valuable Player awards, winning in the 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2023-24 seasons, has been selected to the All-Star team in each of the last seven seasons and perhaps,