Timberwolves comeback from 20 down in second half to dethrone Nuggets, win Game 7

Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets – Game Seven

In the second half of a messy, wild and entertaining Game 7 — when legs were tired and teams’ wills were tested — it was clear one team had championship energy and resolve.

Not the defending champion Denver Nuggets.

It was the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They were down 20 just two minutes into the second half and won the final 22 minutes 60-32. It was the young Timberwolves that played physical defense on one end while attacking the rim at the other in the final minutes, plus hitting their 3s.

It is the Minnesota Timberwolves who advance to the Western Conference Finals, winning the series 3-2. Minnesota will host Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks starting on Wednesday night.

It is the defending champion Nuggets that are done for the season.

It was Jamal Murray and MVP Nikola Jokic who were gassed late in the game after a strong first half. It was Anthony Edwards who struggled early but found his rhythm late.

And it was the Minnesota big men — Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid — who outplayed a big and skilled Denver front line and changed the game.

In the first half, it looked like it would be the defending champion’s night.

The difference in the first half (and one of the barometers of this series) was an aggressive Jamal Murray. He finished the first 24 minutes with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including some key 3s. Minnesota was loading up on Jokic, not wanting him to beat them, but Murray stepped up (Jokic still had 13 points and 15 rebounds in the first half).

It was the opposite of Edwards — the Nuggets doubled him every time he started to make a move and he finished the first half 1-of-7 shooting for four points. Edwards was not getting help when he gave up the ball — Gobert and Conley combined to be 1-of-10 shooting in the first half — with only Towns showing up, scoring 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Denver was also simply winning the hustle points, as evidenced by their eight offensive rebounds in the first half. The result was a 15-point Denver lead at the half, 53-38.

That lead stretched out to 58-38 a couple of minutes into…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/timberwolves-comeback-20-down-second-034506795.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-05-20 03:45:06

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