When the Nuggets felt their backs against the wall after dropping the first two games to the Timberwolves, Denver responded like champions in the next three games.
The Timberwolves have not won a title, but when their basketball mortality was on the line Thursday night, down 3-2 and facing an elimination game, they responded like a champion.
Minnesota went on a 20-0 first-quarter run and just kept rolling from there, going on to win a laugher by 45, 115-70.
It forces a Game 7 on Sunday back in Denver.
WOLVES FORCE GAME 7 SUNDAY IN DENVER
— NBA (@NBA) May 17, 2024
GET READY 🍿 https://t.co/h4EE91jw3V pic.twitter.com/SXESLSxdon
Everything Minnesota needed to win Thursday night went their way, everything Denver tried to do fell apart:
• Mike Conley returned to run the point — Anthony Edwards said that was the difference in the game.
• Minnesota’s defensive energy and physicality returned to the level of the first two games of the series. This game, their double teams of Nikola Jokic worked.
• Denver didn’t buckle under the pressure and moved the ball which led to some good looks, but nothing would fall. Denver shot 7-of-36 from 3 (19.4%) and shot 30.2% overall from the game. As the game wore on, the Nuggets’ body language sagged after each miss.
• The Timberwolves dominated the glass, grabbing 19 more boards total and they had 11 offensive rebounds.
• Jamal Murray crashed back to earth — partly thanks to Anthony Edwards’ defense, partly due to his calf still being and issue — scoring 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting.
• Jaden McDaniels stepped up with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
• Anthony Edwards had himself a night, scoring 14 points in the first quarter on his way to 27 for the night (a number that could have been much higher if the game was not essentially over early in the third quarter).
Ant Edwards scores 27 as the @Timberwolves dominate at home to force Game 7 Sunday in Denver ‼️ #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/TxpQokkKoQ
— NBA (@NBA) May 17, 2024
Nikola Jokic led the Timberwolves with 22, and Aaron Gordon was second in scoring on the team with 12 points.
Things went the Timberwolves way starting just a few minutes after the opening tip.
Minnesota went on a 20-0 run and took a double-digit first-quarter lead. The Nuggets missed seven straight shots and didn’t score for nearly six minutes of play during that Timberwolves run. That run extended out to 27-6 and the Timberwolves never looked back, leading 31-14 after one quarter. The Nuggets shot 6-of-22 against an energized Minnesota defense in the first. Edwards had 14 points in the first 12 minutes, tying the Nuggets on his own.
The Timberwolves doubled up the Nuggets 48-24 at one point in the second quarter, and when Denver made a push and got the lead down to 11, it could not sustain the shooting well enough to continue the run (Minnesota also won the non-Jokic minutes big, something they have not done much this series). By halftime, it was still a 19-point Timberwolves lead, 59-40. Edwards had 19 points at the break.
Edwards threw down a monster dunk early in the second half, and it was clear where this game was going.
It’s going back to Denver on Sunday.
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