MINNEAPOLIS — A night of unfulfilled pomp and circumstance began with Anthony Edwards dancing on the court, multiple award presentation ceremonies and the public address announcer’s booming voice: “Target Center: We waited 20 years for this moment!”
Well, maybe not this exact moment.
The Minnesota Timberwolves triumphantly returned home from Denver with a 2-0 lead over the Nuggets and a chance to host a second-round playoff game for the first time since 2004. As the defending NBA champion Nuggets used a rare three-day mid-series break to lick their wounds and brainstorm how to get stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray on track, the Timberwolves pulled out all the stops Friday to set the stage for a raucous Game 3.
Expectant fans, riding high from a pair of commanding road wins, were given a free white T-shirt and white towel, and co-owner Alex Rodriguez wore white from head to toe for the “White Out.” Edwards, the face of Minnesota’s sudden success, bopped around the court during warmups, soaking in the applause while launching half-court shots. All-star center Karl-Anthony Towns was honored as the NBA’s social justice champion of the year with a taped video message from Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then forward Naz Reid received a loud ovation as he accepted his sixth man of the year trophy shortly before tip.
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Within minutes, the Nuggets set about spoiling the party by steamrolling their way to a 117-90 blowout victory that shifted the pressure back onto the Timberwolves.
Changing venues somehow flipped the series upside down. Denver’s chronic slow starts gave way to a 28-20 lead at the end of the first quarter. Minnesota’s ruthless pressure defense was nowhere to be found, replaced by a slow outfit that kept running afoul of the referees.
“We didn’t start the game with the same teeth and intensity defensively like we had been doing,” Timberwolves Coach Chris Finch said. “[There were] a couple of ticky-tack fouls early. I don’t know if that softened us up. I thought there were some unfortunate calls. The point-of-attack defense was not where it needed to be, and that’s where it starts and ends for us.”
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Denver’s porous defense, which had been powerless to stop Edwards in the first two games, showed backbone by protecting the paint and clearing the glass. Minnesota’s scorching offense fizzled out, undone by missed layups, out-of-rhythm jumpers and turnovers. Finch decried his team’s “sluggish and slow” pace and “lazy” effort generating shots.
Edwards led Minnesota with 19 points and had six rebounds and five assists, but he said afterward he would “take the blame for this loss [because] I came out with no energy at all.”
By contrast, Denver’s stars looked rejuvenated. Jokic, who won his third MVP award Wednesday, kicked up his play with 24 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. The Nuggets outscored the Timberwolves by 30 points in his 38 minutes, and their offense finally generated open looks on cuts and lobs thanks to Jokic’s improved focus and timing.
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Murray, who was showered with boos throughout the first half as punishment for his reckless toss of a heat pack from the bench area onto the court during Game 2, responded with a steady and spry 24 points and five assists. The 27-year-old guard appeared to move much better on his injured calf thanks to the extra time off.
“It just makes you better,” Murray said of the boos. “You have to respond. I like to cherish that moment. It makes you have to lock in and be there for your teammates. That definitely fuels me during the game and keeps me in that mood. I probably deserve the boos. I’m not shying away from it.”
Denver’s star duo combined to deliver a counterpunch that surprisingly never came in Monday’s Game 2. In turn, the Nuggets shot 14 for 29 from deep, their best outside shooting performance of this playoff run. All five Denver starters scored in double figures, a telltale sign that the offense was grooving better than it has through most of this choppy title defense.
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“It might have been the best game of the playoffs for us,” Nuggets Coach Michael Malone said. “I had an edit made. It was a two-minute edit of every talking head in this country saying this series is over, the Nuggets are done, it’s a wrap, they’re toast, and Minnesota is the better team. ... Most of the time I don’t give a damn what they say, but I knew that this would maybe strike a chord. ... If that doesn’t resonate within you as a competitor, I don’t know what will. Our guys answered the bell. They showed me they still believe.”
Minnesota will aim to take a 3-1 series lead at home Sunday, though it must first process its first loss of the postseason. The Timberwolves made it look easy while sweeping the Phoenix Suns in the first round, but the Nuggets are a more tested and more talented opponent.
For the Timberwolves to steady themselves, Rudy Gobert must put up a better fight against Jokic in the middle, Jaden McDaniels has to defend without fouling, and Reid needs to get his offensive game back on track. Edwards can’t succumb to the temptation to bomb away from outside and must remember to apply greater pressure to Denver’s interior defense.
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Despite their disillusionment, the Target Center patrons displayed impressive resolve as Denver’s lead hit 20 points in the second quarter and then 30 midway through the fourth. There was only so much they could do with nothing to cheer, and they directed their frustration at the referees during a late sequence that saw Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kyle Anderson draw technical fouls. By then, the result was in hand and long white queues had formed in the aisles, headed for the exits.
Before their long-awaited party unraveled, the full building had savored a “Wolves in four!” chant. As the final minutes ticked away, a hopeful pack of stragglers shouted a modest revision: “Wolves in five!”
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