Timberwolves blowout Nuggets by 45, force Game 7

Written by: William Petersen •

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The Minnesota and Denver series continues to be one of parody and inconsistency as the Timberwolves dominated the Nuggets in game 6 last night to force a game 7 to determine who will be one of the two teams to represent the West in the Western Conference Finals. The inconsistency in this series comes from the lack of close contests, mainly these two juggernauts exchanging blow out wins every other game. The Timberwolves came out with a fire in game 6 that quickly revealed that Minnesota was never going down without a fight and will be riding some momentum after pounding the Nuggets by 45. Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic was on the bench for the majority of the fourth quarter, and rather than sitting chose to stand because, “he wanted to stay fit to lift after the game”. Either Jokic was trying to keep his muscles warm or he was actually plotting his next moves for game 7, the Nuggets thankfully get to return home to hopefully win a game 7 in their own building after waving the white flag early in game 6.

Game 1: Timberwolves 106, Nuggets 99

Game 2: Timberwolves 106, Nuggets 80

Game 3: Nuggets 117, Timberwolves 90

Game 4: Nuggets 115, Timberwolves 107

Game 5: Nuggets 112, Timberwolves 97

Game 6: Timberwolves 115, Nuggets 70

Game 7: Sunday 5/19, time/channel TBD

The defending champion Denver Nuggets have had an interesting playoffs this season after not leading at halftime once in their first round series against the Lakers to know trading blowout wins with the Timberwolves every other game. Nikola Jokic had an incredible game 5 that put the Nuggets in a position to close out the Timberwolves but the rest of his supporting cast did not get off the bus for the third time this series. The Nuggets shot 30.2% from the field and 19.4% from three in a performance that Nuggets fans would like to erase from their memory. Denver found some success early in the first quarter until the Timberwolves exploded on a 20-2 run to close out the quarter on a 29-5 run. Shots did not fall early for the Nuggets which continued to compound their frustration all while the Timberwolves were getting nearly any shot they wanted. Jokic finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists on 9-19 shooting and 0-4 from beyond the arc. Jamal Murray continues to struggle this postseason finishing with 10 points, 5 assists, and 2 rebounds on 4-18 shooting and 2-7 from three. Denver is lucky they are playing this elimination game at home after the performance they had on Thursday night. I believe the Nuggets will come out hungry and ready to play, and if Jokic has to drop 50 points for the Nuggets to make back-to-back Western Conference Finals, then he will and probably go hit the weights postgame as well. If the Nuggets want to win game 7 they will need an entire team effort defensively but will also need to remind themselves how to make shots if Minnesota comes flying out of the gate like they did in game 6.

Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves continue to define resilience after losing both games at home and game 5 to then blowout the Nuggets by 45 in a pivotal elimination game at home. Edwards continues to carry the Timberwolves offense after racking up 27 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists on 8-17 shooting and 4-9 from three in another performance where all eyes were on Edwards. Minnesota seemed determined to force game 7 and finally defend home court after racing out to a huge run in the first quarter that would end at 29-5 in favor of Minnesota. The Timberwolves shot the ball almost the exact opposite of the Nuggets, shooting 46.5% from the field and 37.5% from three in a game where the Timberwolves dominated the offensive glass and continued to give their shooters multiple looks during a single possession. Minnesota outrebounded the Nuggets 62-43, which allowed Minnesota to take good shots and find production from other members of their lineup besides Edwards. Jaden McDaniels finished with 21 points and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with a 10 point, 13 rebound double-double, giving Timberwolves fans hope that his knee is just sore and not actually injured again. Minnesota has a legitimate chance to make their first Western Conference Finals since the 2003-04 season but the reigning MVP and defending champion Denver Nuggets were one of the best teams at home this season and will hopefully force game 7 to be a tight affair after all of the blowouts this series has seen.

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