On May 13, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, and the Denver Nuggets went to challenge the Minnesota Timberwolves away! In Series G3, the defending champion saved face with a 27-point victory and broke the Timberwolves' unbeaten streak of 6 consecutive wins in the playoffs! G4 came up, the Timberwolves took advantage of the home court to attack hard to seize the opportunity, the Nuggets played a wave of 14-2 offensive to reverse the situation on the court, the rotation period, the Nuggets once extended the difference to double digits, Huazi stepped forward to stop the bleeding for the team, but the Nuggets relied on Murray's fairy ball to lead by 15 points at halftime. Yibian fought again, Huazi started the crazy scoring mode, Murray was not to be outdone, and the Nuggets always maintained a double-digit lead. This situation was maintained until the final quarter, Jokic stepped up and firmly controlled the situation on the court, and the Timberwolves were gone! In the end, the Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 115-107.
The Nuggets' first two home losses were a big surprise, but they showed the heritage and temperament of the defending champions with a declarative victory in G3. In the face of the Nuggets' fierce pursuit, the Timberwolves were ready to take advantage of the interior height, crushing the Nuggets 42-31 in rebounds and beating the Nuggets 12-5 in frontcourt rebounds. However, the Nuggets are a team with stronger discipline and execution, richer routines on the offensive end, more timely retreat, and better overall strength, and they can always find the weakest link on the defensive end of the Timberwolves and give a fatal blow! At the end of the game, the Nuggets team's athletic shooting rate was as high as 57%, and they hit 13 three-pointers with a shooting rate of 44.8%, using mistakes to score 20-11 to beat the Timberwolves, and the bench scored 26-13 to blow up the Timberwolves!
The Nuggets are in the next city, and everyone has shown their determination to finish the battle! Among them, Murray contributed 19 points + 5 rebounds + 8 assists + 2 steals, and the fairy at the end of the half surpassed the three-point shot to kill the heart, and scored 12 points in the third quarter to match Huazi's youthful frivolity; Gordon scored 27 points + 7 rebounds + 6 assists + 1 steal + 2 blocks on 11-of-12 shooting, lifting weight on both ends of the floor. According to statistics, Gordon is the third player in NBA history to score at least 25 points + 5 rebounds + 5 assists with a 90%+ shooting percentage, the first two being Richmond and Paul. Of course, the Nuggets were able to regain home-court advantage in the playoffs without any danger, and Jokic was a great contributor!
Jokic played 39 minutes, shooting 15-of-26 (1-of-5 three-pointers) and 4-of-6 free throws, scoring 35 points + 7 rebounds + 7 assists + 3 steals + 1 block. In the first half of the game, the Timberwolves punched Jokic, who scored 19 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists to help the team seize the opportunity; In the final quarter, Huazi led the Timberwolves to press step by step, forcing out the MVP version of Jokic, who scored 16 points and refused to reverse, which was very arrogant! At the same time, Jokic broke a number of NBA records in one game. According to statistics, this is the 30th time Jokic has scored 30+ in the playoffs, surpassing Westbrook and Miller to rise to 22nd in NBA history. At the same time, it was the 11th time in Jokic's playoff career that he scored at least 35 points + 5 rebounds + 5 assists, more than anyone else in franchise history combined (nine). I have to say that Jokic is too ruthless, and he almost single-handedly plays with the Timberwolves' three highs!
Jokic strongly dragged the series into the battle of Tianwang Mountain, and Huazi became a lone hero! Huazi played 45 minutes, shooting 16 of 25 (5 of 8 three-pointers), 7 of 8 free throws, 44 points + 5 rebounds + 5 assists + 2 steals + 1 block, and the plus/minus on the court was +5. According to statistics, 44 points are a new career high for Huazi in the playoffs. At the same time, this is the fourth time that Huazi has scored 40+ in the playoffs, surpassing Durant, Lao Zhan and Xiaosi (3 times), and ranking second among players under 22 in NBA history, second only to Doncic (5 times). When talking about this loss, Huazi pointed out sharply: they have the best employment in the world, Jokic, and he was in control of the ball the whole game! It's not so much that Huazi is convinced, it's better to say that Huazi is expressing his dissatisfaction: Give me the damn ball, and let me overturn them! The Timberwolves' offense is often constipated, and Huazi's hard solution ability is the only one, but unfortunately the Timberwolves did not let Huazi control the ball all the time, and the more complex the attack, the lower the efficiency. In the battle of Tianwang Mountain, the Timberwolves can't afford to lose, and Huazi must take on more offensive responsibilities! Fans, what do you think about this? Leave me a comment to discuss.