MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Three years after Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to the NBA championship, the peak looked awfully distant for the team from the Mile High City and the three-time MVP award winner.

Ousted in six games by the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first-round series, the Nuggets trudged into the offseason with plenty of questions to answer about their ability to remain a true title contender in the stacked Western Conference. For the first time in four years, the Nuggets failed to make it to May.

“We just lost in the first round, so I think we are far away,” said Jokic, who had 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the 110-98 loss to the Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert deftly neutralized Jokic during the series, even dominating him at times with his long arms, relentless effort and superb positioning.

Jokic found some rhythm and spark in the last two games, but his sidekick Jamal Murray had a rough series. The first-time All-Star, who played in 75 games during the regular season for his most in eight years, was similarly smothered by Timberwolves villain Jaden McDaniels. Murray went just 4 for 17 from the floor and with a game-worst minus-18 rating.

“When I get the looks that I need, they don’t go down,” Murray said. “So that’s the frustrating part, not showing up when my team needed me the most tonight. I feel like if I would’ve played a little bit better we would’ve had that game.”

Missing forwards Aaron Gordon to a calf injury for three of the six games and Peyton Watson for the whole series to a hamstring strain sure didn't help. Cameron Johnson made a late push from the 3-point line, pitching in 27 points in Game 5, but there wasn't enough production beyond Jokic and Murray in this series for the Nuggets to advance, even against a Timberwolves team that was severely short-handed in the backcourt. And their pick-and-roll synergy was largely absent too.

“They were missing a bunch of guys tonight, and they still won. So did we need them? Definitely, but if they are not here, we cannot think, ‘If, if, if, if,’” Jokic said.

After leading the league in offensive rating during the regular season and being held under 100 points only twice, the Nuggets failed to hit triple digits against the feisty Timberwolves three times in the series.

“It’s a miss-or-make league. We couldn’t make any shots," Jokic said. “I’m confident in my and Jamal's two-man game.”

Jokic, who will enter his 12th season in the league in 2026-27, can sign another maximum contract extension this summer. He didn't hesitate when asked about his interest in reupping his commitment.

“I still want to be Nuggets forever,” he said.

Coach David Adelman doesn't have the same security, after finishing his first full year on the job. Might changes be in the works in Denver?

“That’s not my decision,” Jokic said. "Definitely, if we were in Serbia, we would all be fired.”

But in all seriousness, the Joker doubled down on his support of Adelman.

“It’s not his fault we couldn’t rebound. It’s not his fault we couldn’t catch the ball very well. There is nothing to blame David Adelman. It was all us,” Jokic said.

The Nuggets closed the regular season on a 12-game winning streak.

“Very disappointing end to the season. I'm the head coach. I take responsibility for things that didn't go well here,” Adelman said.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Matt Boldy was taking a bruising cross-check in a scrap for the puck along the end boards in the final minute of the first overtime in Minnesota, when teammate Kirill Kaprizov dragged it out of Dallas traffic and set up Jared Spurgeon at the point.

Boldy, to nobody's surprise, hustled over in front of the crease. With one quick flick of his wrists, he deftly used his stick shaft to steer Spurgeon's shot into the corner of the net and seal a critical victory in Game 4. The budding standout right wing has done far more than that dramatic deflection to help the Wild even the first-round NHL playoff series with the Stars.

“That’s the type of player you build teams around. He’s that guy,” said teammate Marcus Foligno, who had the tying goal late in the third period on Saturday. "He doesn’t pout. He doesn’t whine. He just takes it and goes. We saw him in the first shift, the first period. He goes and hits that guy, and that just fired us up. Bolds plays a big-man game, and that’s what his whole career is going to be built around, and there’s nothing better than those big moments.”

The freshly minted Olympic gold medalist scores a lot of goals, too. Boldy followed Kaprizov during the regular season by hitting the 40-goal mark, the first such milestone of his career, and has three goals and two assists in this series. He's third in the league during this postseason with 21 shots.

The Stars have been trying their best to make Boldy and Kaprizov uncomfortable and unproductive, with mixed results, but they're clearly not going to be able to break their confidence or their will. Game 5 is in Dallas on Tuesday.

“They go to the hard places, and they don’t get rattled,” Foligno said. “I think it’s really frustrating over a seven-game series when you can’t get to a superstar’s head.”

The 2019 first-round draft pick, who didn't get serious about hockey until he was 16 after playing plenty of baseball, golf and lacrosse while growing up in Massachusetts, has endeared himself to the Wild fan base. Both of their home games in this series have featured multiple “Boldy! Boldy! Boldy!” chants, a show of affection he appreciated but tried to shrug off afterward in deference to the team.

Playing for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year and at the Winter Games this year helped solidify Boldy's ability to insulate himself from the intensity of high-profile competition, watching more accomplished and experienced teammates like Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews handle the pressure.

“Getting frustrated and complaining and whining and stuff like that does no good,” Boldy said. “The more you can kind of stay calm and let your game speak and do what’s best for the team, good things happen.”

Even when Boldy has taken his share of big hits in this series, like when Stars captain Jamie Benn hit him in the back of the head and caused him to face-plant on the ice in Game 3, he has maintained his composure.

“I think that’s a personality trait. He’s a guy who can play when the heat gets turned up. I think that’s what makes him special,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “But on the other side of it, he earns it. The way that he plays, the way that he competes, the way that he continues to grow.”

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