The 45-point win over the Nuggets was the second-largest margin in playoff history, and Edwards led the Timberwolves to a desperate situation

Beiqing Sports

2024-05-17 12:17Posted on the official account of Beijing Beiqing Sports News

On the morning of May 17, Beijing time, the Timberwolves, who had their backs in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA playoffs, defeated the Nuggets 115-70 at home, and they pulled the score to 3-3, and the two sides will enter the tiebreaker. In this game, the Timberwolves led the opponent by as many as 50 points through high-quality defense. The 45-point win also set the second-largest margin of victory for a team facing elimination in NBA playoff history, with the all-time record of 58 points set by the Lakers in 1956. With nearly nine minutes left in the final quarter, Timberwolves star Edwards held out seven fingers (tie-breaks) to the crowd in celebration with a huge lead.

In this round of the series between the Timberwolves and the Nuggets, the outcome is the most unpredictable. Neither side has the absolute strength to defeat their opponents. But the Timberwolves are widely believed to be the team most likely to prevent the Nuggets from defending their title this season. There are two reasons for this, one is that the Timberwolves have the best interior defensive height and lineup at the moment. Whether that trait translates into an on-court advantage is anyone's mind, but at least the Timberwolves are a team that can match Jokic on the interior defensively.

Second, the Timberwolves have Edwards, who will become a great player in the future, and more and more people are beginning to compare Edwards to Jordan in his youth. Indeed, Edwards's mid- and long-distance shooting stability, technical comprehensiveness, maturity, physical fitness and other aspects have more or less made people see the shadow of the "flying man" back then. Moreover, Edwards' offensive performance in the playoffs this season has become more and more consistent, and he has become the absolute offensive core of the Timberwolves.

After the start of the series between the two teams, it was also a rhythm of ups and downs. The Timberwolves have won two games first, and the prospects of advancing are very good. However, the Nuggets have since won three games in a row, showing the heritage and resilience of a championship team. After playing Game 5, Nuggets head coach Malone came up with the famous phrase "never underestimate the heart of a champion" to show the team's ambition. But in the sixth matchup between the two sides, the cornered Timberwolves made the Nuggets unable to find an offensive feeling at all through a suffocating defense. Whether it is Jokic or Murray, or Gordon, who has been efficient before, they are all limited by the Timberwolves. In this game, Edwards played 33 minutes, shooting 8 of 17, 4 of 9 three-pointers, 27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, plus or minus +43.

Undoubtedly, this wild victory greatly boosted the confidence and morale of the Timberwolves, and they also have a stronger desire and confidence to try to beat the defending champion in the tiebreaker. Edwards expressed his thoughts on the tiebreaker, saying: "There's no doubt that we're going to be ready for that. ”

Text/Beiqing Sports Song Xiang

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