On May 17, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued. In today's Western Conference semifinals, the Timberwolves defeated the Nuggets at home, bringing the series to a 3-3 aggregate score and avoiding the fate of being eliminated by their opponents today.
The Timberwolves started the game with a 9-2 run from the Nuggets, and then the Timberwolves magically went on a crazy 20-0 run to complete the comeback and build a double-digit lead. The Nuggets picked up on the offensive end in the second quarter, but the Timberwolves held steady to avoid the margin being widened. Heading into the third quarter, the Timberwolves went from strength to strength, leading the Nuggets by as many as 29 points and heading into the final quarter with a 25-point lead. The game went into garbage time early in the final quarter, and the Timberwolves ended up with a big win at home.
It will not be easy for the Timberwolves to bounce back after three straight losses, and they will travel to the road to play the defending champions in a tiebreaker. However, according to the data, there have been a total of 149 tie-breakers in NBA history, of which the visiting team has won a total of 37 games, with a win rate of only 24.8%, which is a difficult test for the Timberwolves.
It should be noted that in the history of the Timberwolves, they have only had one previous experience of stealing a seven-game game. Coincidentally, this game happened exactly 20 years ago, and it also happened to be the Western Conference semifinals. At that time, the Timberwolves defeated the Kings 83-80 at home to advance to the Western Conference Finals, and Garnett became a hero in the seven-tiebreaker, he scored 32 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 5 blocks on 12-of-23 shooting from the field!
According to the schedule, the tie-break between the two teams will be played on May 20. If the Timberwolves can win, they will have their second Western Conference final experience in franchise history, and if they lose, they will be eliminated. Can the Timberwolves beat the formidable defending champions in a tiebreaker? Let's wait and see!