The Timberwolves vs. the Nuggets
It all shows that the Timberwolves of Nisota, in the journey of this season, have played the resilience of a traditional strong team. While their No. 1 rookie, Edwards, cashed in on his talent as the No. 1 pick, the team's interior twin towers also showed toughness on the defensive end. In particular, Downs, who has been controversial in the past, seems to have been reborn and has also shown tenacious fighting spirit on the offensive end. However, the situation of the Timberwolves at this stage is still not very optimistic. After the first four games of the second-round series, they and the Nuggets were tied 2-2.
The series was dragged into the Battle of Kings Mountain and played on the home court of the Denver Nuggets, and the Timberwolves suffered somewhat from it. Moreover, their starting core Conley also had to miss this game because of the Achilles tendon injury suffered in the G4 battle, and the situation is even less optimistic. And Jokic, the star of the Nuggets, seized the opportunity in time and led the team to a 112-97 overall score, won the game, seized the Tianwang Mountain, and captured the match point of the series.
Specific competition
At the beginning of the first quarter of the game, the Nuggets, who were fighting at home, took the initiative to take the lead in the score. Jokic played the full 12 minutes of the first quarter, shooting 4-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line, and delivered 12 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. In addition, Pope also had 7 points and 3 rebounds, helping the team to take a 2-point lead with a score of 28-26. Entering the second quarter of the matchup, the Nuggets could continue to exert their power, and with the high state of the team's players, they played a score of 22-18.
Entering the second half of the competition, the Timberwolves, who were bullied one after another, failed to fight back effectively. In the third quarter of the matchup, Edwards shot 2 of 4 and 5 of 5 free throws, and the data of 9 points and 3 assists did not work, and Downs's 7 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists were powerless. Jokic, the star of the Nuggets, played a fairy-level performance, contributing 16 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists in a single quarter, leading the team to a score of 38-30 to expand the difference to 14 points. And in the final quarter of the decisive game, the Nuggets continued to play a 24-23 score. In the end, the fourth quarter of regular time was over, and the Nuggets won the final victory with a total score of 112-97.
epilogue
Looking back at the stats of the game, the overall performance of the players on the Nuggets' side is still very good. According to statistics, five of their players scored double-doubles, among which Jokic, as the team's big leader, shot 15 of 22 in 41 minutes, delivered a game-high 40 points, and 7 rebounds and 13 assists. At the same time, Murray also has 16 points and 4 assists, as well as Harden, who shot 7-of-14 and delivered 18 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, and Pope, who handed over 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
On the other hand, on the side of the Timberwolves, who lost away, the double champion did not play at the level of competition they should have. Edwards was crazy about being targeted after 44 minutes of fierce fighting, so much so that he shot 5-of-15 from the field, only 18 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists, and Downs only delivered 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. The 41 points contributed by the two of them are obviously very weak compared to Jokic's personal 40-point scoring output in a single game. Although Gobert delivered 18 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, Walker also had 14 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists, but he could only helplessly enter the empty slashing group.