On May 11, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs Nuggets played away against the Timberwolves. The defending champions, who lost two home games, embarked on an away trip after a three-day break. Faced with a difficult situation where losing one more game would hang by a thread, the Nuggets started with a hard work and led 28-20 in the first quarter. At the beginning of the second quarter, there was a wave that widened the difference to 20 points, and then the whistle was frequent, and the two sides continued to stalemate, and the Nuggets led 56-41 at halftime into the second half. The Nuggets scored three points in the third quarter, winning the Timberwolves by 12 points in a single quarter, leading by 27 points into the final quarter. In the fourth quarter, he controlled the rhythm and defeated the Timberwolves 117-90 in the whole game, and the score returned to 1-2.
Injuries and illnesses
Timberwolves: All hands on deck
Nuggets: Full Deck
Starting lineup
Timberwolves: Edwards, Conley, McDaniels, Towns, Gobert
Nuggets: Murray, Pope, Porter, Gordon, Jokic
Highlights of the game
1. Murray dominated the first half. Today's Murray swept away the decline of the first two games, 11 of 21 from the field, 2 of 5 from three-point range, 24 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, including 18 points in the first half, helping the Nuggets take a big lead.
2. MVP dominates the second half. Mr. Yoo deserved to be a man of three MVPs, shooting 10-of-18 from the field, 1-of-3 from three-point range, 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, scoring a quasi-triple-double of 24 points, 14 rebounds and 9 assists, and only 3 turnovers. Among them, he scored 13 points in a single quarter in the third quarter, which directly suppressed the Timberwolves' scoring offensive.
3. Striker sharpshooter. Porter Jr. scored 21 points on 4-of-5 three-pointers, and Gordon scored 13 points on 3-of-4 three-pointers, and the two forwards shot directly through the Timberwolves defense.
4. Weakness. Edwards shot 8-of-15 from the field today, 3-of-8 from three-point range, and only scored 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, but there were 5 turnovers, and several offensive fouls blew Huazi's rhythm straight away.
5. Stealth in the second half. Downs scored 12 points in the first half, but only 14 points in the game, and was invisible at half time in the second half.
6. Substitution inaccuracy. Today, the Timberwolves' golden bench was collectively inaccurate, scoring just 16 points in regulation time, while the Nuggets' weaker bench scored 15 points to close the gap.
7. The referee steals the show. Today, the referee steals the show too much, blowing offensive fouls from both sides in a row, making it impossible for the Timberwolves, who have more defensive intensity, to exert their might.
Game recap
In the first quarter of the game, Pope took the lead with 2 points, Murray followed the shot, and Huazi Downs each hit a three-pointer, and the two sides were in a hot state, and the score took the lead alternately. At the end of the quarter, the Nuggets Yomu combination combined to play a wave of 9-4 attacks, and at the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets led the Timberwolves by 8 points 28-20. Murray dropped his first two games of poor form at home, scoring eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first quarter.
Murray hit a two-pointer
Coming back in the second quarter, the Nuggets' offense continued unabated, Holiday Murray hit three points one after another, Downs also colored, Reed missed two points, Porter Jr. made a fast-break dunk to make Downs foul, and the Nuggets led to 13 points. Ma Long was no longer careless and let Teacher Yue return to the field in advance. Pope hit a mid-range shot, Huazi broke through to a layup for 2 points, Mr. Yoo passed to the basket in seconds for his empty teammates to score, Conley missed a three-point shot, and Murray hit a difficult rebound, and the Nuggets led to 17 points.
Murray makes a difficult rebound
The Nuggets went smoothly and Braun hit a three-pointer to bring the lead to 20 points. Gobert scored a basket to stop the bleeding, the Nuggets missed consecutive offenses, and the Timberwolves scored five points in a row to return to 13 points. After the timeout, Porter hit an empty cut, Gobert made a kill under the basket but missed two free throws, Jokic made a foul without the ball, and then hit a jumper, the Timberwolves missed the defense and sent a foul again, and the Nuggets hit both free throws to lead to 19 points again. The whistle continued to blow on the court, and both sides continued to climb to the free throw line.
Conley's big heart is three points
The Nuggets played a tactical system, the team continued to transmit, and Murray received the ball in the open position and hit a three-point shot. Towns immediately responded with a three-pointer, and the Nuggets led the Timberwolves by 15 points at 56-41. It was the second time the Nuggets had led in the first half of this year's playoffs, having trailed in six of their previous seven games.
In the half, Nuggets Murray shot 8 of 13 and 2 of 3 three-pointers, scoring 18 points. The Timberwolves Huazi shot 4-of-8 from the field, 1-of-4 from three-point range, scored 9 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, and Towns was in the best form, shooting 4-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from three-point range, scoring 12 points and 4 boards.
Half-time hero
Yibian fought again, the Timberwolves Maidan cut and dunked in the air, Gordon responded with three points, Pope hit a two-point shot, Huazi singled out a three-pointer, Murray stepped back for two points, and Conley scored a basket. The two sides played lively, but the difference remained at 15 points. The Timberwolves chose to let go of Gordon, who was not good at three-point shooting, but today the dunk king Tieshu blossomed, Gordon hit two three-pointers in a row, and Porter Jr. also added fuel to the fire and hit a three-pointer, and the Nuggets led the Timberwolves by 22 points 72-50.
Gordon was 3-of-4 from three-point range
After the timeout, the Timberwolves sent another three-point foul, and at the moment of crisis, Huazi stepped up and scored 5 points in a row, and Jokic responded with 2 points. The referee came out again to steal the show, and continuously blew offensive fouls from both sides. The Timberwolves' offense suffered back-to-back setbacks, and the Nuggets sent another 6-0 run to take a 24-point lead. At the end of the quarter, Mr. Yoo was even more unstoppable, scoring consecutive individual points, and at the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets led the Timberwolves by 27 points 93-66. Jokic performed well in this quarter, scoring 13 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in a single quarter.
Mr. Yoo hit a three-point shot from a big open position
In the final quarter, the Timberwolves came up to defend for 24s, scored 5 points in a row on the offensive end, and Murray Porter Jr. also colored. The Timberwolves made consecutive mistakes on the offensive end, and the Nuggets hit consecutive counterattacks. The Timberwolves couldn't catch up with the difference and replaced the bench to admit defeat. At the end of the game, the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves by 117-90 points, and the score came back to 1-2.