Without Edwards, the Timberwolves would have been beaten by the Nuggets at half time today.
Trailing by 5 points in the first quarter was not much, but the Timberwolves' rotation at the beginning of the second quarter had a big problem, allowing Gobert to rest for too long, and there was even a period when Huazi and Towns were not there. Grasping the hole in the Timberwolves' rotation, the Nuggets instantly extended the margin to 15 points.
Huazi's 12 points in the second quarter and 23 points in the first half allowed the Timberwolves to chase 7 points at one point. Then they made a series of mistakes before half-time that almost buried the game. Pope hit a three-pointer, Huazi missed, and Porter Jr. made a transition, and the difference came to 12 points, with only 1.6 seconds left in the second quarter.
Alexander hurriedly passed the ball to his teammates in the frontcourt, but his teammates didn't look at the ball at all, and Murray easily stole the midfield three-pointer and hit! The difference went from 7 points to 15 points in an instant, and Murray's half-time three-pointer almost crushed the Timberwolves' confidence.
The Timberwolves were already focused in the closing stages of the second quarter, and the lineup of Huazi + McDaniels + Sangao brought some surprises. But it was such a few tens of seconds of slackness that the Timberwolves were taught a hard lesson by the Nuggets.
It's a matter of pure control of the details of the game, of the execution of the players, of the gap between the championship and the youth army. It seemed to be only a few tens of seconds, but it became the turning point of the whole game. The Timberwolves also failed to chase down the score in the second half to a point margin that could make the Nuggets nervous.
The Nuggets shot 64 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range in the half. Even after the third quarter, the Nuggets still maintained a shooting rate of 60% and a three-point shooting rate of about 50%, and I think the Nuggets played at a super level today.
Murray's two-game shooting run has swept away the gloom at home, and do you think the Timberwolves have a big problem with his defense? Actually, no, I just can throw those difficult pitches.
Gordon was 11-of-12 from the field and finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists. At the beginning of the second quarter, it was Gordon who led a group of benches to open up the difference, which was unimaginable before. The Timberwolves did give Gordon a lot of room to play under the basket, but Gordon's three points were not conceded, which was outrageous.
Previously, we all said that Gordon could start a series of three-point shots, but Gordon has already made three-point shots in consecutive games. 3 of 5 in the second game, 3 of 4 in the third game, and 2 of 2 in today, each game is more accurate than the other.
Jokic, today can be called "all-out covenant". It is intuitively reflected in the second Jokic fast attack looking at Huazi in front of him, and directly ending with a one-handed slam. At his height, it's easy to dunk, but on Jokic, you don't see how many times he dunks hard.
Jokic's 35+7+7 stats are not an exaggeration, but the second time Kicic kicked his legs as long as he won the rebound, pushing the conversion with all his might, and his eyes were aggressive, and he seemed to eat the opponent every round against Gobert. Jokic ripped off his playful clown mask and showed a Heath Ledger-esque fierce expression, and he didn't want to return home with a 1-3 deficit.
Such a Nuggets with no flawless offense and defense, and even a Nuggets with some over-the-top offense, there is no team in the league that can compete with it. As I said at the beginning, if it weren't for Hanako, this game would have been spent a long time ago.
Huazi had 44 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists today, and 40+ for the fourth time in the playoffs. At his age, only Doncic in history has won 40+ playoff games (5) more than him. The last offensive dumb fire scored only 19 points, and Huazi said he took full responsibility, and then he returned a career high of 44 points today.
In the first three quarters of the game, Huazi scored double-doubles, and it can be said that he led the team to fight for three quarters. He still had seven points in the fourth quarter, and by the end of the quarter he had fitness problems. You can't ask Huazi to do more, basketball games are not something that can be won by one person after all.
In addition to Huazi's 44 points, the Timberwolves' second-highest score turned out to be Conley's 15 points. Downs came up and challenged Gordon, who he couldn't push at all, and handed over a 7-0 score, and the first goal was misplaced to find Porter Jr.
Huazi only rested for 2 minutes and 40 seconds today, and then the score comparison between the Timberwolves and the Nuggets during this period was 2-15 points.
The series is now 2-2, with each side winning each other's two home games. We often say that a series starts with a win on the road, and this matchup has obviously become whoever can defend the home court first will take the initiative.
In the next game, the first Tianwang Mountain of Huazi's career, the fate of the Timberwolves throughout the season is tied to this.