On May 11, Beijing time, in the third leg of the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA playoffs, the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 117-90 at home, and the defending champion chased the score to 1-2 after winning this victory.
Timberwolves Towns 14 points and 5 rebounds, McDaniels 10 points, Edwards 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, Conley 10 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists; For the Nuggets, Murray had 24 points, 5 assists and 3 steals, Jokic had 24 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks, Pope had 12 points and 4 assists, Gordon had 13 points and 5 assists, and Porter had 21 points.
In the first quarter of the game, Pope hit a mid-range shot, Murray flew to the basket, Gordon scored a jumper, and Porter's long-range shot also scored; Edwards hit a three-pointer and Downs also hit two three-pointers in a row, and the two sides were deadlocked at nine. Porter scored for a layup, Murray made a mid-range shot; Gobert received a dunk in the air, Conley and Reed both broke through to steal points, and the two teams tied at 16. Murray burst into the court to steal points, Holiday hit a corner three-pointer, Jokic turned and scored a layup, and the Nuggets opened up and ended the quarter with a 28-20 lead.
In the second quarter, Holiday and Murray hit consecutive three-pointers, and Pope also scored from mid-range, and the Nuggets stretched the margin to 15 points at 38-23. Braun cut to the basket, Murray broke through and went to the rebound, Braun's three-pointer scored again, Porter's basket easily ate cake, Jokic threw into the mid-range, Murray used a sharp mid-to-long-range shooting to score five points in a row, and the Nuggets became more and more courageous on the court, leading 56-41 to end the half.
In the third quarter of the game, Gordon threw in three points, Pope and Murray both hit shots, Gordon scored two three-pointers in a row, and Pope also hit a long-range shot from the outside, and the Nuggets widened the gap to more than 20 points at 72-50. Jokic fully showed his dominance and scored six points in a row, Gordon made a dunk in the air, Jokic scored five points in a row on a burst shot, Reggie threw in the middle range, and the Nuggets further widened the gap on the court to end the quarter with a 93-66 lead.
In the final quarter of the game, Murray's mid-range shot, Porter's three-pointer shot, and Jokic's second offense scored, and the Nuggets still maintained a huge advantage at 100-75. The rest of the game was completely reduced to garbage time, and the Nuggets managed to maintain their advantage to win.
Starting lineup
Timberwolves: Gobert, Towns, Edwards, McDaniels, Conley
Nuggets: Jokic, Pope, Porter, Gordon, Murray