Facing elimination Thursday night against the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves steamrolled to a 115-70 victory over the defending champions to force a Game 7.
It was a group effort for Minnesota, as eight players had at least eight points with guard Anthony Edwards leading the way with 27.
Defensively, Minnesota was anchored by four-time Defensive Player of the Year center Rudy Gobert. Gobert grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and, along with Karl-Anthony Towns, helped hold three-time MVP Nikola Jokic to just 22 points, his second-lowest scoring output of the postseason.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, the 45-point win is the largest ever against a defending champion in NBA postseason history and the second-largest by a team facing elimination. Additionally, Denver trailed by 50 points at one point in the game, making it their largest deficit in a regular or postseason game since at least 2000.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray struggled for the second straight game, with 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting. Denver also allowed a 20-0 run in the first quarter and a 24-0 run in the fourth quarter, as Minnesota had all the answers despite having their backs against the wall.
The series now shifts back to Denver for Game 7 on Sunday night. The Nuggets are looking for their third trip to the Western Conference Finals since 2020 while the Timberwolves are looking to make it back for the first time since 2004.
Social media had a ton to say about the blowout.
“Jamal Murray we need you to close out the series”
Jamal Murray: pic.twitter.com/E0aAU3zVit
— Chef curry Parody (@baby_face_goat) May 17, 2024
Nuggets 63 points with 8 minutes left and Jokic didn’t turn into a Bird/Magic/Jordan/Kareem hybrid tonight & suddenly there’s no more Rudy Gobert career rewriting/DPOY thinkpieces on the TL pic.twitter.com/Bllt3dxgC9
— 🤺 (@philfanacc) May 17, 2024
They thought we were done 😭 pic.twitter.com/RAGPWoBP0S
— Timberwolves Muse (@Wolvesmuse) May 17, 2024
greatest game I’ve ever seen as a Timberwolves fan. Sunday is the 20th anniversary, hoping for some good memories to add atop this one. pic.twitter.com/9vx5UgUkez
— Hanif Abdurraqib (@NifMuhammad) May 17, 2024
[ESPN]
About Robert O'Neill