Four Nuggets Who Cost Denver Most in Game 4 Loss

The Denver Nuggets fell to a third-straight loss in their first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 that now leaves them with a 3-1 deficit to overcome, and seemingly no answers thus far on how to make that climb.

It might not have been as ugly as Game 3 was across the board, yet there were definitely some brutal showings across the board from several pieces of the Nuggets lineup that made the end result turn out like it did.

Let's take a look at the four players who ended up costing the Nuggets the most in what was a pivotal matchup for the series on Saturday:

Tim Hardaway Jr.

In another poor shooting night on the Nuggets' behalf, Tim Hardaway Jr. found himself a part of those struggles.

He was the only player on the team to record a positive plus-minus (+1), but he also shot 3-10 from the field and a brutal 0-6 from deep that certainly shut off a big asset to the Nuggets' overall offensive production.

If the Nuggets want any hope of turning things around for what would be a resilient 3-1 comeback, Hardaway Jr. will have to revert back to the form seen throughout the regular season that nearly got him a Sixth Man of the Year award in the process.

Christian Braun

Apr 25, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) is defended by Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) in the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Christian Braun continues to leave fans with more to be desired on both ends of the ball, and this game that dropped Denver to three-straight losses wasn't much different.

Braun finished with another single-digit effort of eight points on 2-4 shooting from the field, while on the other end, it would be Ayo Dosunmu putting together a whopping 43-point performance off the bench.

Braun wasn't always his primary defender throughout the night, but he'll have the spotlight placed under him as Denver's best answer to perimeter defense that just hasn't clicked throughout the season.

Perhaps being without Anthony Edwards on the other end could give the Nuggets a chance of limiting the Wolves on the defensive side, but that banks on Braun handling his business in the process.

Aaron Gordon

On one hand, it's hard to totally fault Aaron Gordon for gutting things out to play for Game 4.

He's clearly dealing with some nagging injury that's allowing him to not show out at 100%, that took him out for an extended stretch in the middle of the game, and thus led to David Adelman sitting him after 23 minutes.

But in the minutes a hobbled Gordon would play, they weren't exactly his brightest. He would finish with nine points on 4-11 shooting from the field to record just one rebound.

Being without his typical versatility and skillset is always a huge blow for the Nuggets' ceiling and overall success, no matter the matchup. But against Minnesota's size and physicality, it's an even bigger concern. Add Peyton Watson's absence in, and their offense becomes even further depleted.

Time will tell if Gordon will give it a go for Game 5 and try to push for better results. So far, though, things have not looked great for Denver's two-way forward throughout this series.

Nikola Jokic

It's quite surprising to see Nikola Jokic be an inhibitor to the Nuggets' success in a playoff series, but that seems to be exactly the case that the three-time MVP seems to find himself in.

Jokic just hasn't seen his shots falling (or his teammates', for that matter) as you'd expect them to for Denver to be ranked the number-one offense in the NBA.

Game 4 was no different from his last two games, where he shot a collective 8-22 and 0-3 from three, and having failed to eclipse 28 points in any game this series, which is essentially his season average. Adding insult to injury, his late-game skirmish with Jaden McDaniels caused him to leave the floor via ejection.

Jokic has always been the engine that makes this machine move as effectively as it does. But this series, he's been sloppy, inefficient, and not to the standard of what the best player in the world should be held to.

As tough as a pill it may be to swallow, Jokic might be the one player to blame for the Nuggets being stuffed into their current 3-1 hole. And if there's any chance for them to climb out of it, he'll have to be the one leading the way to do it.

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