Nuggets win for first time in Western semi-finals
Nikola Jokic on Friday recorded 24 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists as the Denver Nuggets dominated in a 117-90 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinals series in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jamal Murray finished with 24 points on 11-for-21 shooting for Denver, who cut their deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Michael Porter Jr scored 21 points, Aaron Gordon chipped in 13 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 12.
Murray was booed loudly by Timberwolves fans.
“He feeds off that,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “He’s a guy that plays with a ton of emotion. I think actually that’s when he plays at his best, when he’s playing with that emotion. We’ve seen that time and time again.”
Anthony Edwards finished with 19 points on eight-for-15 shooting to lead Minnesota, who sustained their first post-season loss after winning their first six playoff games in a row. Karl-Anthony Towns added 14 points, and Mike
Conley and Jaden McDaniels put up 10 apiece.
Edwards said of the lopsided defeat: “It’s on me, I’ll take the blame for this loss. I came out with no energy at all. I can’t afford to do that for my team. I let my team down, the fans down.”
The teams will remain in Minneapolis, where defending champions Nuggets have a chance to pull even in the series in Game 4 today.
After struggling against the Timberwolves’ defense in the first two games, Denver broke through in front of a hostile crowd. The Nuggets shot 53.8 percent (43 of 80) overall and 48.3 percent (14 of 29) from three-point range.
Meanwhile, Minnesota shot 43.7 percent (31 of 71) from the field and 30.3 percent (10 of 33) from beyond the arc.
The Nuggets led by as many as 34 points in the second half.
The Timberwolves were outscored in each of the first three quarters and trailed by double digits for the majority of the game. The Nuggets outscored Minnesota 37-25 in the third to carry a 93-66 lead into the final 12 minutes.
An 11-0 run ballooned the Nuggets’ lead to 109-75 with 5:54 to go. Jokic had two baskets and Porter buried a three-pointer during the run.
Denver rolled to a 56-41 lead entering halftime.
The score was even at 16-16 before Denver finished the first quarter on a 12-4 run.
Murray made a driving layup and a jump shot during the surge, and Jokic finished it with a layup with 1.1 seconds remaining to give the Nuggets a 28-20 advantage.
In the second, the Nuggets maintained the pressure on Minnesota by posting a 28-21 edge to increase their lead to 15 points. Murray finished the half with 18 points, which was more than double the eight points he scored in Game 2.