On May 17, in the light blue night sky, the NBA playoffs Western Conference semifinals reached the most crucial sixth game. Can the Timberwolves, who are on the verge of elimination, take advantage of their home court to get back and compete with the Nuggets? As it turned out, not only was the team not crushed by the desperate situation, but fought like a hungry beast, and finally defeated the opponent with an astonishing score of 115-70, dragging the series into a tiebreaker! What kind of game is this? Let's take a look back at the highlights of this showdown.
For the Timberwolves, this is undoubtedly a battle of life and death that must be won. Against a strong Nuggets, they had to show 100 percent form to get back into the game. Sure enough, the whole team made up their minds and controlled the pace at the beginning of the game.
In the first quarter, the two teams played extremely fiercely. Although the Nuggets took the lead through Jokic and Porter's offense at the beginning, they were soon attacked by the Timberwolves' crazy counterattack. With the firepower output of Edwards, McDaniels and others, coupled with strong defense, the Timberwolves won 20-0 in a row and quickly took the lead. Even though Jokic finally broke the scoring drought, the Timberwolves still ended the first quarter with a 7-0 offensive wave and led by 17 points at 41-14.
In the games since, the momentum of the Timberwolves has not diminished in the slightest. At the beginning of the second quarter, although the Nuggets narrowed the gap slightly through the second offensive of frontcourt rebounds, Edwards, Towns and others quickly led the team to play a wave of 10-3 offensive and stabilized the situation. By halftime, the Timberwolves had a 19-point lead over the Nuggets, 59-40.
In the third quarter, the Timberwolves still maintained a strong offensive and defensive performance. McDaniels, Edwards and others cut points one after another, once widening the difference to 26 points. Although the Nuggets' Pope and Murray also performed well, it was difficult to shake the Timberwolves' lead after all. At the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves led by 25 points at 86-61.
At the end of the quarter, the situation of the war did not slow down in the slightest. The Timberwolves' offense was still full of firepower, hitting consecutive three-pointers, and at one point widened the margin to 36 points. The Nuggets' main players also went to rest, and the Timberwolves ended the game smoothly, and finally won 115-70 to tie the series.
It is worth mentioning that the Timberwolves will show their might in this game. Edwards scored a game-high 27 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, and had a plus/minus of +43, tied for the fifth-highest all-time. Although Downs didn't shoot much, he still got a double-double of 10 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists; McDaniels shot 8-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range, playing well; Gobert also grabbed 14 rebounds inside.
The crowd was undoubtedly cheering on the Timberwolves' stellar performance. Netizens said: "This is the real timberwolves!" Wizards, you can go home!" Huazi's milestone is too well arranged!"
At the same time, the performance of the Nuggets has also attracted a lot of attention. Jokic was pressed all over the court and didn't shoot well, scoring only 22 points and 2 assists; Murray also struggled with tight defense, finishing with just 10 points and five assists. Clearly, the Nuggets' leading scorers didn't perform as well as they should in this crucial battle. One commentator said: "Jokic was defended in all directions today, if it weren't for Porter and Murera, I'm afraid this game would be completely out of play." "The Nuggets' bench is simply given for nothing, only 2 points in the first three quarters, which is too targeted, right?"
This game undoubtedly became a landmark battle for the Timberwolves to return to the top. The whole team was united, the morale was high, and both the offense and the defense were as good as they should be. In particular, the wonderful performances of Edwards, McDaniels and others are even more amazing. As for the Nuggets, the aberrations of major scorers such as Jokic have also become an important reason for their losses.
The next battle for the seventh will undoubtedly be a tough battle. The two teams are very close in quality, and whoever can play well in the final crunch time will have the last laugh. It's going to be a great battle for the pinnacle, so let's wait and see!
Although the Timberwolves have pulled one back with such a stunning score advantage, there is still a long way to go to defeat the Nuggets in the crucial tie-breaker. Jokic, as the core of the Nuggets, did not completely lose his offensive power even in this fiasco, and with the cooperation of Porter, Murray and others, the overall strength of the Nuggets should not be underestimated. Although the Timberwolves staged such a wonderful reversal, whether they can continue to maintain their state in full swing in the tie-break also needs to be highly concerned.
It was undoubtedly a tough battle for both sides. The managers of both sides must adjust their team form before the game and find a targeted tactical response. The Timberwolves need to continue their previous offensive and defensive passion, and they must not let up in the slightest, especially if they continue to limit Jokic's play. The Nuggets must also find a strategy to make the team's overall offensive rhythm more fluid, while not letting bench players fall behind.
At critical moments, whoever can show more outstanding personal ability is likely to have the last laugh. The Timberwolves' Edwards has already shown amazing offensive ability in the last game, and with the support of Towns, McDaniels and others, they are undoubtedly the favorites to win the championship. But it's also impossible to ignore Jokic's unique talent, as he has always excelled at scoring when it mattered most.
Regardless of the final victory, this tie-break will be a thrilling matchup. There is not much difference in the strength of the two teams, and whoever can play a better overall strength and on-the-spot adaptability will have the last laugh. Let's wait and see this exciting showdown!