The Minnesota Timberwolves came into the 2nd round of the playoffs knowing that they had a tough challenge ahead with Denver. The Nuggets are the defending champions and they eliminated the Timberwolves on the way to their 1st NBA Championship. The Wolves started the series on the road with a bang as Anthony Edwards put the team on his back early.
Anthony Edwards was on fire to start the game as he was able to get some easy buckets at the rim early. Once Edwards starting getting that rhythm going then it was going to be a long night for the Nuggets. Edward’s had 13 points in that 1st quarter and was trying to make a statement in this one. On the flip side Michael Porter Jr was able to hit some tough shots in the 1st to keep the Nuggets in the game when it looked like Minnesota was going to pull away. MPJ was able to get the Nuggets offense going and that translated to his teammates starting to play with confidence as well. Nikola Jokic picked up on that trend from MPJ as he started to get some easy looks once Gobert/Towns got in some foul trouble.
On the night Nikola finished with 32 points but it wasn’t enough to get the win as his counter part Jamal Murray was still playing banged up. The Timberwolves made it tough on Murray all night long as he shot 6/14 from the field for only 17 points. It was a quiet 17 points as the Timberwolves threw multiple defenders at Murray it didn’t matter if it was McDaniels, Edwards, or Alexander-Walker. The Wolves made it tough on him with the length tonight and it showed.
Anthony Edwards finished with 43 points tonight and put on a show against the defending champions. You can tell he’s playing with some aggression and revenge on his mind. The way that Anthony Edwards has grown as a playmaker and a scorer this season has been spectacular just like Game 1’s performance. If he can continue to play at this rate some that consistency the Wolves will be able to make some noise.
The 4th quarter was all about TWO WORDS “Naz Reid” as he was able to get his game going after showing some slight frustration. The 6th Man of the Year showed up and finished with a playoff career high 16 points. The Wolves needed all over those points from him as it was a close game down the stretch but this season the Wolves are poised and patient. KAT and Rudy played major parts in the game from a length/defensive standpoint so if the Timberwolves want to leave with a 2-0 advantage back to Minnesota they will need to match that.
Game 2 is on Monday night as the Timberwolves will take their 1-0 lead into that game trying to go back home 2-0. It’s expected that the Wolves are going to see big efforts from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray so they need to just lock in defensively and limit turnovers for that to happen for them.
Photo Credit: (AP Photo/David Zalubowski
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