On May 11, Beijing time, the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 117-90 on the road, chasing the big score to 1-2. This year's playoffs are very weird, the first round Thunder swept the Pelicans 4-0, the Timberwolves swept the Suns 4-0, and in the semifinals, the scores of the four groups were 2-1 (the Green Army 1-1 Cavaliers, the next game is also 1-2 or 2-1), I don't know if the game became intense, or the league deliberately controlled the court, Carlisle was also heavily fined $35,000 for questioning the referee. Yang Yi, a famous domestic basketball figure, posted a meaningful article, he believes that the referee's blowing penalty has always been in favor of the away team, and this kind of thing can only be seen in that room.
Aside from the referee's blowing penalty, after the Nuggets found their best state, they were indeed too powerful, simmering slowly on a small fire, and collecting the juice on a large fire, this game was almost the same as the first round. In the first half of the game, the Nuggets led by 15 points, and in the third quarter, the Nuggets beat the Timberwolves in waves, and the difference came to nearly 30 points, and the entire fourth quarter became garbage time. I have to say that the Timberwolves are indeed very good, but in the face of the old and spicy Nuggets, even if they are now leading 2-1, it is estimated that the possibility of reaching the Western Conference finals is not very high, and once the defending champions enter their own rhythm of the game, the opponent will be very dangerous.
The Timberwolves shot 10-of-33 from three-point range, grabbed only 32 rebounds in the game, and had 14 turnovers, and their advantages were not played at all. Edwards scored 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, Gobert had six points and four rebounds, Towns had 14 points and five rebounds, Conley had 10 points and Reed had seven points. Compared with the previous two games, the core players of the Timberwolves played very average at home, with Lee Kyle eating T, Walker being expelled, and the referee's decision also caused dissatisfaction among the Timberwolves players.
The Nuggets' Murray bottomed out, cutting 24 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, he decided the team's ceiling, Murray played sluggishly in the first 2 games, and was fined 100,000 by the league. Porter had 21 points and 4 rebounds, in fact, analyzing the Nuggets game, when Murray and Porter went on a rampage at the same time, the game was basically no suspense. Gordon had 13 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists, and his performance was also quite good, and the biggest winner was MVP Jokic, who played 38 minutes, scored 24 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks on 10-of-18 shooting, and the plus/minus reached an astonishing +30. Also, Jokic clocked out early with minutes left in the game, but he still set a crazy playoff record.
According to media statistics, Jokic scored at least 24 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in this game, and he is also the first star in the history of the NBA playoffs to get such comprehensive data, like Robertson, Jordan, James and other legendary stars, they have not done it, Jokic easily became the first person in the playoffs, which is really amazing. And, Jokic gives the impression that he hasn't played 100 percent yet. The 29-year-old may be the most dominant star in the NBA in the last 20 years, surpassing James and Curry without suspense, comparable to O'Neal at his peak, his influence on the game is too great, scoring, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks, etc., there is no aspect that he is not good at.
If the Nuggets win G4 in Minnesota, they will have a good chance to win the battle of Tianwang Mountain after returning to their home court, and their chances of reaching the Western Conference finals will be greatly increased. In the first 2 games, the Nuggets were too careless and didn't play at a real level at all, and now that the Timberwolves are too happy, the series has just begun.