Takeaways from Denver Nuggets’ 3–0 victory over the Timberwolves
MINNEAPOLIS—You could see a night like this heading toward, well, Denver.
In a startlingly one-sided Western Conference semifinal Game 3, the Nuggets responded with vigor and conviction, with their season and 2023 championship defense basically on the line. The series will either drastically change course or not on Sunday (8 ET, TNT).
The Nuggets’ easy victory in Game 3 and their ample flexibility, as well as desperate unwillingness to lose three games behind, at least add to the tension. From the start, the Nuggets controlled the game, leading by double digits for the most of it and winning by 27 points at the buzzer.
Jamal Murray and the Nuggets’ impressive shot-making matched the Wolves’ poor stretches at both rims. Minnesota, therefore, lost for the first time in seven postseason games as a strong and determined Denver reaction halved their lead in the series.
Notably, after a 26-point loss in Game 2, it was the biggest margin of victory in postseason history for a club that lost the previous two games at home.
Five lessons from the Nuggets’ 117-90 victory and the current 2-1 Minnesota series
1.Murray answered quickly
The Target Center crowd booed Murray immediately after his introduction, primarily because he was present. Many were not happy Murray was allowed to play at all; in Game 2, he escaped a fine but not a ban from the league office for tossing objects on the floor.
Without Murray, the Nuggets lose this game. That is because Murray had his best performance in the playoffs. Up until Friday, he was primarily careless and ineffective, even in the Laker series, when he made crucial jumpers that won the game.
Murray was certainly determined to change everything in Game 3. Fortunately, the three off-days following Game 2 relieved his strained calf. Murray and the Nuggets recover following a rout in Game 3.
Jamal Murray, who scored 24 points on 11-for-21 shooting in Denver’s 117-90 victory, benefited greatly from three days off. Murray was therefore feisty from the start, scuttling between double-teams, stepping back for jumpers, scoring 18 of his 24 points by halftime, and seizing control of the game.
Murray has just one day off before Game 4, so the calf muscle might be a problem again. He remarked, “This is probably the best I’ve felt going into a game,” adding that things tightened up a little towards the finish.
2. Minnesota returns to Earth
These playoffs really were the best the Wolves had to offer. Their depth simply exhausted the Suns in the first round, and through the first two games of this semifinal, the Nuggets’ defense was historic. Anthony Edwards was volcanic.
However, for a squad that was undoubtedly good and a contender, this was a not-so-welcome return to routine. And in Game 3, the Wolves’ problems followed, mostly on the offensive side.
Minnesota never created enough momentum to overcome its first significant disadvantage in the playoffs; it was unable to shoot straight from long and lacked the urgency of the Nuggets. In addition, there was never a sellout crowd, and midway through the fourth quarter, spectators started beating traffic home.
“I haven’t watched a team win 16 straight in the playoffs,” Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns said. We simply need to be better versions of ourselves, he said. That was not tonight.
Almost exactly the opposite of Minnesota’s resounding victory in Game 2, the Wolves scored just 41 points in the first half, went 5-for-28 on three-pointers, and let the Nuggets run wild offensively.
“We didn’t move generally or make decisions,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. On each end of the floor, there is not much of anything worthwhile.
3. Wolves’ formula cracked by nuggets through deep shooting
The Wolves’ pressing and trapping had the Nuggets totally confused earlier in the game. It took away everything Denver does well, especially shooting.
Friday, that all changed very quickly. The Nuggets realized their goal all night long, making almost half of their 3-pointers and connecting on 54% of their shots overall, given the caliber of defense the Wolves often play.
Because they are comfortable and can find the open guy, the Nuggets play at a slow and collected pace. Run by Nikola Jokic, arguably the best passing big man in history, this is the result of an offense that functions like a Swiss watch, developed naturally.
Last Monday, none of this was apparent, as the Nuggets looked nothing like the club that won the championship a year ago, shooting 35% overall and 30% from deep.
That was then, though. A series can abruptly shift course with a single game; hence, the Nuggets aren’t taking too much away from Game 3.
“We’re not celebrating anything,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone declared.
4.McDaniels’ four fouls were a factor.
A player that appears to operate in the shadows was involved in a subtle development that helped the game escape the Wolves.
The Wolves lost maybe their best defender when swingman Jaden McDaniels got into early foul trouble. That is how much McDaniels has increased in value—not just in this series but throughout the entire season.
McDaniels has done a good job of using Murray as a speed bump through two games, but Murray never caused any trouble for the Wolves. Friday then arrived. Both Murray and McDaniels, if perhaps in excess, contributed vitality.
His fouls limited McDaniels to just seven first-half minutes, by which time Murray and the Nuggets were dominating, leading by fifteen points.
5. Nuggets regain their swagger
This Nuggets 48-minute show looked familiar. The team seemed to be the same one that easily won a title the previous year.
That squad had never before made an appearance in the 2024 playoffs. The Nuggets trailed each game at halftime, even though they swept the Lakers in the opening round, but they rallied to win all four.
In this series, the first two were forgettable, particularly Game 2, when they lost by 26 points with foul body language. In this aspect, the Nuggets were constant: they maintained their toughness on the road. We’re 8-4 now, heading back to the last postseason.
On Friday, the Nuggets received their request for a 2023 throwback. The ball moved, Jokic scored a 24-point game, Murray bounded off screens and opponents, and the Nuggets kept the Wolves on a treadmill.
That was Denver Nuggets basketball, Malone remarked.
Malone used the team’s comeback from two 3-1 deficits in the bubble as evidence of its mental toughness, and he combined the predictions of Denver doom from TV talk programs throughout the previous three days as inspiration.
Our men answered the bell, Malone said. They hold fast to their beliefs.
