Nuggets respond with a decisive victory against the Timberwolves in Game 3, narrowing the series to 2-1.

The Timberwolves learned to appreciate Aaron Gordon, to fear Jamal Murray, and to understand that winning the Western Conference isn’t going to be simple from the Nuggets.
This is now a series, at least according to the Nuggets. They still need to win at Target Centre on Sunday to avoid having to play three straight elimination games, but they lowered the deficit to 2-1 in the second round of the playoffs with a commanding 117-90 victory over the Timberwolves on Friday. So far in all three games, the away team has prevailed.

Murray, who was fined by the NBA last week for flinging items at officials, escaped a suspension and finished with 24 points on 11 of 21 shots, three steals, and five assists. In spite of his left calf injury, Murray finally looked like himself, getting separation, making tough jumpers, and rubbing his hands together in delight at the delicious thought of hustling the crowd during his villain turn. He and his teammates forced Jaden McDaniels into early foul trouble to keep the outstanding perimeter defender off the court.
The freshly minted three-time MVP Nikola Jokic finished with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 blocks, and 3 steals after another poor offensive start. It took until the second half for him to score. His defence was two for one. He took Anthony Edwards down late in the third quarter, and Gordon converted the stop into a transition alley-oop. Denver had a 29-point lead late in the game.
Gordon was crucial to the decisive surge when the halftime advantage was fifteen. The 29% 3-point shooter was sagged off by the Timberwolves, who then challenged him to try jump shots. In addition to his two thefts in the third quarter, he scorched them for it by draining three threes. In addition, he often raised the ball to shield Murray from Minnesota’s vicious 94-foot ball pressure. With two steals, he ended with 13 points.
With Michael Porter Jr. scoring 21 points, the Nuggets shot 48% from 3-point range and 54% from the floor. Minnesota was held to 44% and 30%.
Edwards could only muster a meagre (for him) 19 points on the floor, enough for a minus-32. Five times over, he turned it over. As part of a lineup that included wings (Justin Holiday or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope) covering Karl-Anthony Towns and defying him to post up, Nuggets sixth man Christian Braun—whose postseason minutes have solidly verified that title—matched up against Edwards effectively for crucial stretches. The majority of Towns’ 14 points came from 3-pointers.
Thankfully for their own sake, the Nuggets played a competitive first quarter and came out on top eight points after three days off to reflect on their excruciating pattern of slow beginnings. Instead of focusing much on tactics, Michael Malone’s whole pregame press conference seemed to be an appeal to his team’s mental toughness.
He said, “There are no excuses,” when questioned about Denver’s injury list. “You have to go outside and play if you are able to. Everyone in the playoffs is injured. Jamal has a serious injury. KCP is seriously injured. Nikola is seriously hurt. What now? Proceed and do out your duties. Additionally, we will have to find someone else to attempt and contribute if you are unable to carry out your duties.
Almost every player on the roster contributed in some way. Additionally, the refereeing of the game was much tighter than in Game 2, when Murray and the Nuggets lost their cool when they didn’t get foul calls. This time, Minnesota’s supporters took up the well-worn “ref you (stink)” chant. It was a technical foul against Naz Reid in the third quarter. That was Kyle Anderson in the fourth. Nickeil Alexander-Walker also seemed to sustain injuries after running into a heavy screen. Compared to the last game, the officiating was entirely different.

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