In a game that was incredibly sloppy from start to finish, the Denver Nuggets found a way to come out on top and eliminate the Minnesota Timberwolves. Courtesy of a 112-109 victory, the Nuggets move to round two eliminating the Timberwolves in five games. It wasn’t for lack of effort from the Timberwolves as they gave it everything they had, but the Nuggets finally found a way to close the door on Tuesday night at Ball Arena behind another incredible playoff performance by Jamal Murray.
It was another big time playoff game from Murray as the Nuggets star point guard scored 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the field, 5-of-9 from beyond the three-point line. Murray also dished out five assists and hauled in four rebounds as he made some big shots in the second half to help a Nuggets team that struggled to score for most of the game. If it wasn’t for Murray this recap may look a little different as his play is what really kept the Nuggets in the game till Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. got going in the fourth quarter.
Jokic struggled to score the ball for most of the night, but still finished with a triple-double of 28 points, 17 rebounds, and 12 assists, but did shoot just 8-of-29 from the field. The most surprising part of Jokic’s night was he shot eight threes, but to his credit he did make three of them. Porter meanwhile did not have a point through three quarters, but responded well with eight points in the fourth behind two three-pointers. Porter also hauled in 10 rebounds as he still found a way to make an impact even though his shot was not falling.
Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown chipped in 14 points a piece, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (10) also finished in double figures to help Denver secure the win. We’ll have to wait and see who the Nuggets face in round two, but there’s a pretty solid chance it will be the Phoenix Suns, who could eliminate the Los Angeles Clippers as early as tonight.
