DENVER — In one corner of the Minnesota Timberwolves locker room sat Julius Randle, ice bags on both knees and eyelids at half mast, his body in shambles and the words coming slowly after he spent 50 minutes on the Ball Arena court wrestling a 6-foot-11, 284-pound Serbian bear.

In a dramatic double-overtime finish, the Minnesota Timberwolves edged the Denver Nuggets 140-139 despite Nikola Jokić’s historic 61-point triple-double performance. His dominance led Anthony Edwards to make a bold,

Stephen A. Smith praises Anthony Edwards after the Timberwolves' 2OT win over Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

Nikola Jokic hits the highest-scoring triple-double in NBA history as the Denver Nuggets lose an overtime thriller to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Nikola Jokić put up 61 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in an outrageous performance, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Denver Nuggets from losing 140-139 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a double OT classic.

They needed him, the weight of a playoff-level intensity resting on scratched-up shoulders, and so Nikola Jokic didn’t come off the floor.

Nikola Jokic had one of the greatest performances in recent NBA history in Tuesday night's thriller against the Timberwolves.