The NBA conference finals return to Game 7 on Sunday, with the Minnesota Timberwolves defeating the Denver Nuggets 98-90.
Unlike Game 7 earlier in the league, when the Indiana Pacers made history with a dominant win over the New York Knicks on the back of stellar shooting, this game was a slugfest that held Minnesota until late in the fourth quarter. Only then did they win back a victory.
The defending NBA champion Golden Nuggets, at home, came into Sunday’s game with momentum, leading by 20 points at 58-38 early in the third quarter.
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No. 32 Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves goes up against the Denver Nuggets’ Christian K. Game 0 for the Brauns. (C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
Then, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards finally got a shot, and good offense led to great defense on the other end of the court.
The Timberwolves won the third quarter 28-14, and they carried that momentum into the fourth quarter. Minnesota would lead by 30 points when Edwards’ three-pointer made it 92-82 with 3:07 left in the game.
Nugget fans at Ball Arena screamed for their team to stay on the field, but the Timberwolves’ noise ultimately proved too much to bear.
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Nikola Jokic, who sat out the game for just a minute before he was out of breath, hit the final shot with 1:02 left to cut the Timberwolves’ lead to five points. They had a glimmer of a comeback chance, but Minnesota’s co-scorer Karl-Anthony Towns put an exclamation point on the victory with a putback dunk on Mike Conley’s missed layup.
Towns made 8 of 14 shots and scored 23 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and 1 block, helping the team reach the conference finals. Teammate Jaden McDaniels also scored 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3 three-pointers and 6 rebounds.
Denver Nuggets’ No. 15 Nikola Jokic will play No. 32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the third quarter of Game 7 of the Western Conference second-round playoffs on Sunday at Ball Arena in Denver Karl-Anthony Towns. (C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
McDaniels’ performance was necessary because Edwards, Minnesota’s leading scorer, wasn’t having the best day in his hands. He made 6 of 24 shots, including 2 of 10 from beyond the arc, and scored 16 points.
However, his efforts never stopped, and he contributed 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 interceptions for the Timberwolves.
Minnesota also saw big minutes from NBA Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid, who hit several clutch shots in the fourth quarter, including a Towns-like putback dunk. He had 11 points and 4 rebounds.
The Nuggets shot 24.2% from three-point range. After that, Jokic made 2 of 10 shots and scored 34 points and 19 rebounds in Game 7.
Jamal Murray scored a game-high 35 points, but his three-point shooting performance was also poor, hitting only 4 of 12 attempts. He made 13 of 27 shots from the field and had 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
Minnesota Timberwolves’ No. 5 Anthony Edwards celebrates a three-pointer during the third quarter against the Denver Nuggets during Game 7 of the Western Conference second-round playoff game at Ball Arena in Denver on Sunday. . (C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
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After this stunning comeback victory, Minnesota will host Dallas on Wednesday to open a series that will determine who represents the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.
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