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Following the biggest scare the team has faced in two years, the Denver Nuggets have officially bounced back from an 0-2 series deficit against the Minnesota Timberwolves: winning back-to-back games […]
Following the biggest scare the team has faced in two years, the Denver Nuggets have officially bounced back from an 0-2 series deficit against the Minnesota Timberwolves: winning back-to-back games on the road, including Game 3 in extremely convincing fashion, to create a 2-2 series tie.
The Western Conference Semifinals are now, essentially, a best-of-three between the Nuggets and Timberwolves, with the Nuggets holding home court in the first and potential third game of this upcoming “new series.”
The Nuggets came out playing like they did in Game 3: dominantly.
The game was close to begin, with the Timberwolves taking early leads as large as seven points, but Denver ended the first quarter on a 14-2 run: fueled by Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and a three-pointer from Reggie Jackson.
The Nuggets then opened the second quarter on an 11-2 run, with two Justin Holiday three-pointers and two Christian Braun baskets providing some valuable bench points.
Jokic was aggressive in the second quarter, connecting on 3-of-5 attempts in an exciting battle against Rudy Gobert: the now three-time NBA MVP versus the now four-time Defensive Player of the Year.
The Nuggets also ended the second quarter on an 8-0 run. Following a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope three-pointer, Anthony Edwards turned the ball over with 4.5 seconds to play in the half. Jokic got the steal, and quickly got the ball to Michael Porter Jr. on the other end for a dunk with 1.1 seconds left in the half. Jamal Murray stole Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s overzealous inbound pass, and then after a relatively quiet half shooting, connected on a 55-foot heave to give the Nuggets a 64-49 halftime lead.
The Nuggets shot lights out in the first half, overcoming Edwards’ best efforts. Karl Anthony-Towns had the worst shooting half of his career in the first: a 1-of-10 performance.
The third quarter began with an offensive explosion, with the Nuggets and Timberwolves going basket-for-basket in six straight possessions, which included three-pointers from Mike Conley, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Anthony Edwards on Minnesota’s end. This allowed Minnesota to chip in to Denver’s lead, trading two-point baskets for three-point baskets.
Murray used the momentum of his first-half buzzer-beater to continue scoring in the third quarter. Murray made three of the Nuggets’ first four baskets of the second half, including a three-pointer to give the Nuggets a 73-58 lead just two minutes into the quarter.
But the Timberwolves remained resilient, relying on defensive stops and then feeding the ball to their offensive star: Anthony Edwards.
Edwards finished the third quarter with 37 points in total, following an empathic dunk and a pair of free throws, but the Timberwolves still trailed 90-79 heading into the fourth quarter.
Gordon entered the fourth quarter perfect from the field: 9-for-9, connecting on inside dunks and three-pointers alike. His presence on the offense was felt early and often, with Gordon impacting the game whether or not the ball was in his hands.
Minnesota cut their deficit to single digits after a Mike Conley make to start the fourth quarter, but the Nuggets wouldn’t let their foot off the gas. Jokic scored the game’s next six points, including a 24-foot three-pointer, a seldom-used but important part of his repertoire.
The Timberwolves got some energy on a monster alley-oop from Mike Conley to Rudy Gobert, slammed down with just one-hand. Gobert added three more at the line in the ensuing possessions, cutting the Nuggets lead to 98-88.
The Nuggets responded fittingly: another bench player, Christian Braun, hitting a three-pointer to extend Denver’s lead to 101-88 with 8:07 to play.
Gordon hit another shot, a 16-footer near the end of the shot clock, for his 10th make in as many attempts. Jokic and Edwards traded baskets, putting the Nuggets up 105-95 with 6:09 remaining. His 11th make, a dunk on a clean dish from Jokic, gave the Nuggets a 111-99 lead.
The Timberwolves remained within striking distance cutting the Nuggets lead to 111-104 with 1:41 to play following a Jaden McDaniels three-pointer and an Edwards layup.
Gobert blocked Gordon’s last shot attempt of the game, ruining his perfect night from the field.
But the comeback attempt had no time to really get going. Minnesota made a dent in the Nuggets lead, but that’s as far as they could get by the final buzzer: losing by 8 points, and probably wishing they had one more quarter to play, much like the Nuggets felt in Game 1.
The Nuggets won 115-107, knotting the series at two games apiece despite dropping the first two games of the series at home. Now, the series shifts back to Ball Arena, where the Nuggets can claim a 3-2 lead with a Game 5 win at home. Essentially a best-of-three series now, anything is possible. Both the Nuggets and Timberwolves have each earned a close win and a blowout win in this series, with the winning team being the road team in all four instances so far,
Aaron Gordon was incredible all night for the Nuggets, always making himself available for timely, high-percentage looks, and even handling the ball with Jokic off the court. Including a pair of three-pointers, Gordon just kept increasing his perfection from the field: 6-for-6, 7-for-7, 8-for-8, 9-for-9 heading in to the fourth quarter. Jokic is the NBA MVP. Jamal Murray can hit almost any shot. Michael Porter Jr. can be instant offense. But the Championship Version of the Denver Nuggets is living, breathing, and thriving when Aaron Gordon is impacting the game on both ends of the floor.
Gordon finished 11-of-12 from the floor, scoring 27 points and adding 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
Nikola Jokic scored 35 points on an aggressive 15-of-26 field goal attempts, with 7 rebounds and 7 assists to boot.
Jamal Murray scored in flurries, finishing with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting. After shooting lights out for the majority of the Nuggets’ first eight playoff games of the season, Michael Porter Jr. had a quiet night: scoring four points on just four shot attempts.
Justin Holiday (10), Christian Braun (11), and Reggie Jackson (9) added valuable points off the bench.
Coach Mike Malone left Peyton Watson on the bench for the entirety of the game, even when inserting benchwarmers late in the game.
Anthony Edwards finished with a dazzling 44 points on 16-of-25 shooting, but couldn’t get a fellow 20+ point scorer in his support. Karl Anthony-Towns finished with 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting, and Mike Conley added 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
Can the Nuggets keep their momentum going in Game 5 at Ball Arena, or will the Timberwolves continue the trend of road teams winning in this series?
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Header Photo Credit: Jery Holt/Star Tribune
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