On May 13, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs Western Conference semifinals, the Nuggets vs. Timberwolves G4 officially started, the first three games both sides won away from home, the Timberwolves temporarily led 2-1, this game is still the home of the Timberwolves, so this game is very important for the defending champion Nuggets, whether the Timberwolves can keep the home court is worth the attention of fans.
In the three games that have ended in this group of series, the Timberwolves' 2020 champion Edwards averaged 29.7 points per game, completely playing a superstar performance, and teamed up with the 2015 champion Towns, so that many fans saw the hope that the Timberwolves would eliminate the defending champion Nuggets.
At the end of the half, with Murray hitting a long-range three-pointer at halftime, the Nuggets led by 15 points at 64-49. As soon as the third quarter came up, the offensive end of the two sides was very efficient, Murray scored 4 points in a row on the Nuggets side, Gordon hit a shot, the Timberwolves were not to be outdone, Conley, Edwards, and Towns scored all three outside three-pointers, and the Nuggets asked for a timeout, with 10 minutes and 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets led by 12 points at 70-58.
After a timeout, Murray scored a three-pointer, the Timberwolves failed to attack, and Gordon hit another three-pointer from the outside to give the Nuggets an 18-point lead. After that, the Timberwolves Towns and Gobert scored 5 points in a row, and Gordon made 9 of 9 shots from the basket! Towns scored two more points, Murray returned the three-pointer, and the offensive efficiency of the two sides was very high, and halfway through the fourth quarter, the Nuggets still led by 15 points at 81-66.
After that, Edwards scored five points in a row, and Holiday scored a three-pointer to stabilize the situation on the Nuggets' side, and Edwards hit a layup, with 3:49 left in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets had maintained an 11-point lead at 84-73. At the end of the third quarter, Edwards stepped up again, and at the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves trailed the Nuggets by 11 points 79-90 into the fourth quarter.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Edwards hit a breakaway shot, and the Timberwolves narrowed the gap to single digits. Jokic was powerful and immediately played 2+1 to stabilize the situation. After that, the two sides went back and forth, and the Nuggets maintained a lead of more than 10 points.
With 2 minutes and 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves' McDaniels hit an outside three-point shot, the Nuggets failed to attack, and Edwards scored a layup, and the Timberwolves narrowed the gap to 7 points in the final 2 minutes of the game.
With 51.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Edwards made one of two free throws to put the Timberwolves up by eight points at 105-113. After Murray's layup was blocked by Edwards, the Timberwolves countered and drew a foul, Conley hit both free throws to give the Timberwolves a six-point trail at 107-113 with 28.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
After Jokic scored two points, the game lost suspense, and finally the game was over, and the Nuggets beat the Timberwolves 115-107 again, so far both sides have won two games in a row on the road, and the big score has been tied at 2-2. Game 5 of the two sides will be played in Denver, the Nuggets' home stadium, and the defending champions have turned the tide so far!
Throughout the game, Edwards played 46 minutes and scored a game-high 44 points, Conley 15 points, Towns 13 points, Gobert, Reed, and McDaniels each scored 11 points;
On the Nuggets' side, regular season MVP Jokic scored a team-high 35 points with 40 points, while also scoring 7 rebounds and 7 assists, Gordon scored 27 points on 11-of-12 shooting, almost replicating Yao Ming's 12-of-12 performance! Murray scored 19 points, and the above 3 people are undoubtedly the heroes of the Nuggets' victory!
To talk about this series, the performance of the Nuggets in the first two games was abnormal, and the two interior players on the Timberwolves' side, Towns and Gobert, had excellent performances, plus the leader-level performance of the absolute core Edwards, so far to achieve a 2-0 lead.
And when it came to the home court of the Timberwolves, the defending champion Nuggets began to return to normal, and on the Timberwolves side, although Edwards' performance was still at the superstar level, the other players on the team performed more stretched, and the interior Towns and Gobert were very unstable, so far the Nuggets won two games in a row to turn the situation around, so far, it is indeed very difficult for the Timberwolves to eliminate the defending champion in this group of series......
In other games, the Pacers defeated the Knicks 121-89 at home, also bringing the score to a 2-2 draw. The Celtics temporarily lead the Cavaliers 2-1, and the next fourth game between the two sides is on the home court of the Cavaliers; The Mavericks lead the Thunder 2-1, and the next 4th game between the two sides is still on the home court of the Mavericks, and the Thunder, who are the first in the West in the regular season, are already in a dangerous situation.
predicted that the Western Conference Finals will be the Nuggets vs. the Mavericks; The Eastern Conference Finals are the Celtics vs. the Knicks, and the Finals are the Nuggets vs. the Celtics, so the probability of the Nuggets defending the title will be very high!