Minnesota is ready for the moment.
Anthony Edwards was ready scoring 43 points and being the most dominant offensive force on the court.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid were ready, they combined for 36 points on 15-of-24 shooting.
Rudy Gobert and the Timberwolves defense were ready, it was disruptive all night taking away plays the Nuggets count on for easy buckets and forcing Nikola Jokic to work for his 32 points. Jokic hit nine 3-pointers that night, a sign that they’re getting out what they love to do.
And Minnesota was ready for the decisive moment – outscoring Denver 33-28 in the fourth quarter and shooting 68.4% as a team.
All of this combined for an impressive Game 1 win for the Timberwolves on the road, 106-99. Minnesota leads the series 1-0 with Game 2 on Monday night in Denver.
The Timberwolves came out of the gate looking ready, opening up an 18-4 lead with Edwards scoring 13. Meanwhile, the Nuggets opened the game 2 of 10 – going against the Timberwolves’ long, active defenders, after facing the Lakers, was a culture shock for the Nuggets.
The Nuggets bench came in, fixed things up, Denver was up 13-0 and it was a game again. It was 44-40 Nuggets because Edwards wasn’t getting enough help — he had 25 of the Timberwolves’ points on 10-of-17 shooting, while his teammates had 15 points on 22.2% shooting.
That changed in the second half – Towns came in and shot 5 of 5 in the third quarter and the Timberwolves scored 33 points on 14 of 19 shooting.
When Towns picked up his fourth and fifth fouls just minutes into the fourth quarter, Naz Reid came out and showed everyone why he was the Sixth Man of the Year – he had 10 straight points at one stretch and played brilliantly.
During the regular season, the Nuggets were the best clutch team in the league and the Timberwolves were in the bottom five, but when the game got close, you’d never know it. Minnesota’s offense worked all night, led by Edwards but with everyone getting buckets. See Minnesota’s second-half shooting chart.
While Jokic was good, he didn’t get enough help. Michael Porter Jr. had 20 points, but Jamal Murray went scoreless in the first half before finishing with 17. Aaron Gordon had nine and didn’t get the easy looks he did against the Lakers.
Denver is the defending champion, but the pressure is on them to win Game 2 at home or they may find themselves in a hole too deep to claw their way out of.
