Wolves Eliminate Nikola Jokic, Nuggets Despite Anthony Edwards Injury as Fans React to Game 6 Upset
The shorthanded Minnesota Timberwolves entered Game 6 of their first round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets missing Anthony Edwards, Ayo Dosunmu, Donte DiVincenzo and Kyle Anderson, but the resilient group was still able to kick Denver out of the playoffs with a 110-98 home victory on Thursday.
Jaden McDaniels scored 32 points on 13-of-25 shooting alongside 10 rebounds and two steals, including a clutch one with 1:01 left to help seal the game. He played 45 minutes too.
Terrence Shannon Jr. added 24 points, six rebounds and two steals, and Julius Randle added 18 points. Rudy Gobert posted a near triple-double (10 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists). All shouldered heavy burdens for a Minnesota rotation that only ran eight deep, with just six of those players seeing the court for more than 12 minutes.
Denver center Nikola Jokić had a near triple-double himself with 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, and Cameron Johnson added 27 points and eight rebounds. Jamal Murray, who made his first All-Star team this year, had a rare off-night and shot just 4-of-17 en route to 12 points. Minnesota outscored Denver by 18 points with him on the court.
Minnesota crushed Denver on the boards, grabbing 50 rebounds to the Nuggets' 33. The Timberwolves also scored 64 points in the paint to Denver's 40.
Minnesota outscored Denver 28-20 in the second quarter to take a 57-50 lead and led 82-74 going into the fourth. However, the Nuggets clawed back and cut the lead to 100-97 with 2:03 left after two Murray free throws.
Shannon delivered a massive blow, though, when his three-point play on the ensuing possession gave Minnesota a 103-97 lead. Johnson made one-of-two free throws in response, but McDaniels responded with a clutch pull-up jumper for a 105-98 edge with 1:07 left.
McDaniels got his aforementioned clutch steal on Denver's next possession, and Minnesota held on from there to advance to the second round for the third time in three years.
Ultimately, this was a tremendous win for the Timberwolves, who lost their leading scorer from the regular season and superstar (Edwards), their leading playoff scorer (Dosunmu) and a key starter in DiVincenzo. Still, Minnesota persevered and advanced against a fantastic team that won 12 straight to end the regular season.
Fans and analysts were impressed with the Wolves, particularly McDaniels, who finished the series with 17.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
Meanwhile, this was a brutal loss for the Nuggets, who had the upper hand early in this series with a 116-105 win in Game 1 but proceeded to lose four of five.
One can easily argue Jokić is the NBA's best player, but Minnesota slowed him down a bit in this series. He also shot just 19.4 percent from three.
Murray also did not shoot well, making just 35.7 percent of his shots and 26.2 percent of his threes. He did score 23.7 PPG (including 30 in Games 1, 2 and 4), but this series did not represent the best of his abilities.
Christian Braun also scored just 5.5 points per contest (6-of-17 shooting) over Games 3-6.
The Timberwolves will now face Victor Wembanyama and the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.
