T-Wolves Defining Second Half Leads to Game One Win on the Road

With the Minnesota Timberwolves sweeping the Phoenix Suns, and the Denver Nuggets defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, the T-Wolves flew to Denver for their Western Conference Semifinals matchup against the Nuggets. This Game One was tightly contested, but Minnesota’s defining second half propelled them to get the 106-99 win over the defending NBA champions. If the Nuggets go down 2-0 after playing in Denver for the first two games, we could see the Timberwolves shock the basketball world by perhaps taking this series. We’re looking at a matchup that has quite possibly been one of the most intriguing setups in all of sports. 

The Denver Nuggets outscored the Timberwolves by a total of four points during this first half of action. Denver held a 44-40 lead with two quarters left to go. You could tell immediately at the opening tip-off that these two teams were going to go at each other and battle it out not only in Game One but throughout the series. During the start of the second half, both of these teams were cashing in shots left and right. In the third, the T-Wolves shot 74 percent from the field going 14 of 19, while the Nuggets went nine of 16 which equates to 56 percent shooting. Both teams had four made threes during that third quarter. Minnesota outrebounded Denver by two. The Timberwolves held a two-point lead with one quarter left to go. With 35 seconds left to go, Michael Porter Jr. nailed a three to bring the Nuggets deficit to five points. Anthony Edwards put up a driving layup that put Minnesota up seven with less than 30 seconds remaining. Denver could not get the comeback, as the Timberwolves held on to get the huge Game One victory. Naz Reid and Anthony Edwards combined for 26 points out of the T-Wolves 33 points during the fourth quarter. 

Anthony Edwards finished with 43 points, along with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Karl-Anthony Towns dropped 20 points with four rebounds, and three assists in the win. Nikola Jokic had 32 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, and three steals with seven turnovers. Michael Porter Jr. finished this Game One with 20 points, while Jamal Murray put up 17 points in the loss.