It was Minnesota’s masterpiece as the Timberwolves fought back from a 20-point second-half deficit to knock off the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets 98-90 in Game 7 on Sunday night.
The Timberwolves overcame a 15-point halftime deficit in the largest Game 7 comeback in NBA playoff history behind Anthony Edwards, who had just four points, no rebounds and three kills in the half. assists, but finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
His impact belied his 6-for-24 shooting performance, including 2-for-10 from 3-point range. Edwards took the ball up the court as time expired and took the time to wave goodbye to the Denver home fans.
The Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels each scoring 23 points. They will take on the Dallas Mavericks starting Wednesday night at Target Center.
The Nuggets became the defending champions as they failed to reach the conference finals for the fifth time in a row. Jamal Murray scored 24 points in the first half and the Nuggets led 53-38 at halftime before Murray’s 3-pointer with 10:50 left in the third quarter put the Nuggets ahead. Expanded to 58-38.
The Timberwolves used the stingiest defense in the NBA to get back into the game. They ended the quarter with a 28-9 run, chasing the score to 67-66 entering the fourth quarter.
Rudy Gobert gave the Wolves their first lead since the first quarter with a basket early in the fourth quarter, and when Towns picked up his fifth foul, NBA Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reed performed well on both ends of the floor to help Minnesota stay in the game.
In a critical moment when Minnesota led 85-82, Reed hit two free throws and dunked, then fed Edwards for a breakthrough three-pointer to give the Wolves a 92-82 lead with three minutes left. .
In Game 6, the Nuggets lost 70-115, Murray made 4 of 18 shots from the field, the most losing game in the playoffs for the defending champion, and he led the Denver Nuggets with 35 points. Jokic scored 34 points, 19 rebounds and 7 assists.
It was the Timberwolves’ first Game 7 since beating Sacramento in the second round 20 years ago. This was their only trip to the conference finals. The Nuggets are in Game 7 for the fifth time in the past six seasons and seeking to reach the conference finals for the third time in that span.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said before tipoff that he didn’t think Game 7 would be a blowout following Games 2, 3 and 6. But “probably not, because this is the weirdest series I’ve ever been a part of.”
The Nuggets’ massive lead only adds to the strangeness of this series.
