Nikola Jokic & Denver Attempt to Tie Series

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray each scored 24 points on Friday night to lead Denver to a 117-90 win over Minnesota in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series. It was a much-needed win for the Nuggets, who found themselves in a 2-0 hole after the first two games of the series. Both of those games were played in Denver.

Game 3 was crucial since no NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game playoff series. Denver dialed up a winner, holding Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards to just 19 points and the TWolves to a playoff low of 90. Game 4 is tonight in Minnesota. Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

Jokic will need to have another solid game if the Nuggets are going to tie the series. Minnesota held Denver to 99 and 80 points in Games 1 and 2. The TWolves have the best defense in the NBA, holding teams to 106.1 points per game during the regular season. In the postseason, Minnesota is allowing just 88.6 points per game.

Jokic Wins Third MVP

Just last week on May 8, Jokic was awarded his third NBA MVP award. He beat out Dallas’ Luka Doncic and OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Jokic has now won three of the last four MVP awards. During the regular season, the Denver star averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game. All of those numbers led the Nuggets.

Denver has to realize that Jokic can’t do it all himself. In Game 2 of this current playoff series, Jokic only scored 16 points. He did have 16 rebounds and he contributed 8 assists, but the Nuggets got crushed 106-80 by Minnesota. In Game 3, was more like himself with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 9 assists, coming up just short of another triple-double. 

For the Nuggets to get past Minnesota and have a shot at defending their NBA title from a year ago, everyone around Jokic is going to have to step up their game. You can bet the Minnesota defense will be ready to go today in an effort to go up 3-1 in the series.

How About Those MVP Handicappers

If we gave out an MVP to our handicappers here at Sports Hub, it would be very hard to choose. Sas Insider, which finished No. 2 on yesterday’s leaderboard, has been a model of consistency for pretty much the whole year. Yesterday, Frankie the Fan put on an MVP-worthy performance and was our overall leader.

We’ve got a ton of great handicappers that are available each and every day to help bettors everywhere. All you need to gain access to these cappers is a Sports Hub membership. The great thing about that…it’s free to join! Click that orange button at the top of the page to get started on the way to more wins.

Now, let’s take a look at yesterday’s top performances.

• Frankie goes to Hollywood: Ok, not to Hollywood, but he did go to the top of the leaderboard. Frankie hit 7 of his 8 picks yesterday and earned $533. He’s now our No. 2 hockey handicapper and our No. 2 basketball handicapper over the past seven days. His total for the last three days is $920 and Frankie is up $1535 for the week. Now, that’s a Jokic-like MVP performance.

• The best in the business: Sas Insider continues his amazing run. Yesterday, the Insider went 8-5 and earned $325 in profits. Sas Insider is on just about every leaderboard we have. He’s No. 1 on the 7-day board with $3360 earned this week and he’s been No. 1 on the 30-day leaderboard for what seems like ever. He’s up $5861 for the month.
• No. 1 hockey capper: That would be Sean Kuchman. Over the last seven days, Sean has earned $855 in hockey profits alone. Yesterday, he went 3-0 – two were NHL picks – and earned $310. Over the last three days, Sean is up $935.
• Another 3-0 for Diego: Diego Garcia had another 3-0 day (he does that from time to time) and added $308 to his bankroll. 
• The Hawk strikes again: Mike Hawk had himself another day. He went 7-3 on 10 picks and took home $307. 
• Honorable mention: Sports Hub experts Joe Berra and The Bookie each went 3-0 and profited $300 yesterday. It’s always a good day when you walk out with an extra $300.

Jokic Leads Denver Against Minnesota Tonight

Denver will try to tie up its playoff series against Minnesota tonight. Jokic and company need another stellar effort to even this one up. The Knicks and Pacers play today’s other NBA playoff game. Don’t forget about the NHL playoffs too.

Major League Baseball, of course, has a full slate of games today. The night game pits Atlanta at the New York Mets. The two PGA Tour events finish up today and it’s Sunday, so that means NASCAR. The betting boards will be full today.

Here’s today’s schedule.

1. NBA: New York is at Indiana at 3:30 p.m. The Knicks lead the series 2-1. Indiana won Game 3 and could tie the series with a win today. Of course, Jokic and his Denver Nuggets play at Minnesota tonight.

2. NHL: There are two NHL playoff games today. Florida plays at Boston and the Panthers lead that series 2-1. Vancouver is at Edmonton in the other game tonight. It starts at 9:30 p.m. That series is tied 1-1.
3. MLB: It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon full of baseball. There are 15 games today. The Sunday night game is in New York where the Mets host the Braves. The Chicago White Sox, who have the worst record in the AL, have won four straight games. They finish out a series with Cleveland today.
4. NASCAR: The NASCAR Cup Series continues with today’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. Tyler Reddick will start in the pole. 
5. World soccer: Arsenal can get back into first place in the Premier League with a win over Manchester United today. That match is already in progress. There are matches in Bundesliga, LaLiga, Ligue 1, and Serie A today. MLS also has one match today. The Portland Timbers host the Seattle Sounders FC.
6. UFL Week 7: Birmingham stayed unbeaten with a 30-26 win yesterday and the Arlington Renegades (1-6) won their first game of the season. They beat Memphis (1-6) 47-23. Today, Michigan (4-2) faces the DC Defender and San Antonio (4-2) plays Houston (1-5).
7. Internazionali BNL d’Italia: The men’s and women’s tennis tours are in Rome currently. Round 3 play continues for the men. Top seed Novak Djokovic lost his third round match earlier today to Alejandro Tabilo. The women are also in Round 3. No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka advanced with a win in her third-round match. 
8. Wells Fargo Championship: Xander Schauffele continues to lead this tournament. He is one shot ahead of Rory McIlroy heading into today’s fourth and final round. 
9. Myrtle Beach Classic: Chris Gotterup now has a four-stroke lead at Myrtle Beach. Three golfers are tied for second. Gotterup tees off at 12:45 p.m. today along with Erik Van Rooyen, who is one of the golfers tied for second.

Happy Mother’s Day

It is Mother’s Day and Sports Hub wishes a very Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there that put up with our incessant obsession with sports betting. We are all about sports and sports betting and we wouldn’t be here if not for the very special women in our lives. Happy Mother’s Day!