Nikola Jokić and the defending champions weren’t just going to give up and decide.
Jokić and the Denver Nuggets, after a brutal start in the Western Conference semifinals, came out firing on Friday night in Minneapolis. They cruised to a dominant 117-90 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3. The victory, after slipping in the first two games at Ball Arena in Denver, finally put them on the series board. It also handed the Timberwolves their first loss of the postseason, which completely stunned the sold-out crowd at Target Center.
After a tight first quarter, the Nuggets closed the period with a quick 12-4 outburst to secure an eight-point halftime lead. That was, at that point, the biggest lead of the series in Denver.
From there, Denver took off. The Nuggets opened the second quarter on a big 17-5 run and took a 20-point lead after Christian Braun hit a 3-pointer just minutes into the quarter. Just like that, the Timberwolves were almost out of the question.
The Nuggets held Minnesota to just 21 points in the second quarter, giving them a 15-point halftime lead. Karl-Anthony Towns was the only Timberwolves player to reach double figures in the first half after hitting four 3-pointers. Jamal Murray had 18 of his 24 points in the first half for Denver after his rough game in Game 2 — which resulted in a $100,000 fine from the league after he threw things on the court in frustration. The Nuggets simply dominated during the first 24 minutes.
The Nuggets then increased their lead to over 20 points quickly in the third quarter after Aaron Gordon hit a pair of 3-pointers and Michael Porter Jr. for good. The Nuggets extended the lead to 27 points late in the third quarter and then had no trouble finishing off the 27-point victory.
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 19 points after shooting 8 of 15 from the field. Towns finished with 14 points and Mike Conley added 10 points, six assists and six rebounds. Minnesota shot just 9 of 27 from 3-point range. Frustrations also boiled over towards the end, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker was ejected from the game in the final minutes after arguing with the referees.
Jokić finished with a triple-double to lead the Nuggets. He had 24 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Murray had four assists and four rebounds to go along with his 24 points, and Porter finished with 21 points. The Nuggets shot nearly 54% from the field as a team and just 49% from behind the arc.
Friday’s game completely escaped the Timberwolves. While they still maintain the series lead, Sunday’s Game 4 is now extremely important for a team that hasn’t reached the Western Conference finals in two decades. If they have to return to Denver next week tied at 2-2, it will truly be a winnable series.
