MINNEAPOLIS – The Joker’s performance is no laughing matter for the Nuggets.

Nikola Jokic, the engine of the NBA’s best offense in the regular season, looked anything but the part in Denver’s 113-96 Game 3 loss Thursday at Target Center.

Minnesota leads the series 2-1.

“They’re big, tall, long. They’re really good defensive players, so they’re making you shoot over them or just make extra moves,” Jokic said. “Especially in the first quarter, we could not make a shot. When you open the game like that … then the easy ones are not going to go either.”

Matching up primarily against Rudy Gobert once again, Jokic needed 26 shots to score 27 points. The free-throw line was the only spot from which he scored efficiently, going 11 for 11. He went 5 for 16 inside the arc and 2 for 10 from 3-point range. He came out aggressive, taking six shots in the first four minutes, but he missed all of them and committed his first turnover to help Minnesota establish an early lead. The Timberwolves never trailed and went on to lead by as many as 27.

“He just missed. I really mean it,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “I thought the 3s were actually really good shots for the most part. The 2-point shots, as far as the face-up jumpers, getting to the rim, these are things that he’s going to do. He had a tough night. It happens to players. These guys played in a million playoff games. There’s nights that are poor. I think he’ll bounce back.”

The three-time Most Valuable Player didn’t have much success as a facilitator, either. He finished with four turnovers compared to three assists. The poor shooting while being covered one-on-one makes creating for others harder.

“If I make a little bit of shots, then the defense is going to react,” Jokic said.

“I think that’s why I couldn’t get anybody involved. … It was just one-on-one coverage. I think I needed to do a little bit better job of scoring, and then I think it’s going to open up for everybody else.”

Jamal Murray (16), Tim Hardaway Jr. (11) and Zeke Nnaji (10) were the only other Nuggets in double figures. It was an uncharacteristically rough night for the Nuggets offensively. It wasn’t turnovers, as Denver finished with just 10. The Nuggets still only shot 34% from the field and 25% from 3-point range.

“We didn’t exert physicality offensively to help each other out. … When we got sped up from their pressure, that led to some unorganized possessions in the first half,” Adelman said.

“That’s not who we’ve been throughout the season. Usually on those kind of nights I would come in here and say, ‘we can’t turn it over 19 times and give up 30 points.’ That’s not what happened today. A lot to improve on offensively.”

Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench and led the Timberwolves with 25 points, while Jaden McDaniels backed up his talk earlier in the week with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Four other Timberwolves scored in double figures.

After Adelman pulled his starters with a little more than four minutes to play, the home crowd chanted “Wolves in five.”

History is still on Denver’s side, as long as the Joker gets back to his typical self. There’s little doubt that will be the case in Saturday’s Game 4.

“The shots he took today, it wasn’t like he doesn’t make those every day of his life,” Murray said. “I’ve never seen him shoot what he shot today. That’s just kind of an outlier type of game – really from everybody – but we’re not worried about Jok.”

The Nuggets have fallen behind 2-1 in a series seven times in the Jokic and Murray era. Denver ended up winning the series four times.

“It’s first to four, and we have another great opportunity in a couple of days to regain control of it, take it back to Denver the right way,” Adelman said.

“We’ve been down 0-2, tied at 2-2. We’ve been down 3-1. We’ve seen all these things, so the panic is not going to be there. Without the panic, there has to be responsibility to get better for Game 4.”

TIMBERWOLVES 113, NUGGETS 96

What happened: Minnesota led by 14 after the first quarter and owned a 61-39 lead at halftime. Denver shaved five points off Minnesota’s lead in the second half but never threatened.

What went right: The Nuggets did their best job on Anthony Edwards so far. After scoring 22 and 30 points, respectively, in the first two games, Minnesota’s star finished with 17 points on 15 shots.

What went wrong: Denver finished the first quarter with more turnovers, four, than made field goals. Denver went 3 for 21, including a 1-for-9 mark from 3 in the opening quarter.

Highlight of the night: Well, Red Panda put on a show at halftime.

Up next: Game 4 is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Target Center.