MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets delivered the kind of disciplined performance that’s a prerequisite to staying long in the NBA playoffs.
The Minnesota Timberwolves certainly aren’t there yet.
Jokic recorded his seventh triple-double of the playoffs with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists and the Nuggets beat the Timberwolves 120-111 Friday night to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
“We didn’t want to give them life,” said Jokic, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player who led the league with 29 doubles this season. We wanted to be the aggressor. We wanted to punch them first.”
Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Jamaal Murray added 18 points and nine assists as Denver held on to another run by Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards to send a clamor of white-shirted fans home from another disappointing postseason loss.
“Proud of the group,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. “They handled their business like they’re supposed to, the way mature teams do.”
Edwards scored 36 points to bring his total to 95, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 27 after totaling just 21 over the first two games, Rudy Gobert scored 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolves, but a defensive rout here and a 3-pointer rush there was enough. To seal their fate against this Nuggets team finally healthy enough for another round in the NBA Finals.
“Our decision-making on offense is just kind of disappointing,” said head coach Chris Finch.
Bruce Brown had 12 points to lead Denver to 29-10 in bench points, and the Nuggets narrowly shot 57% from the field.
Game four is here on Sunday.
“There’s no disrespect for T-wolves, this is about us, but we don’t want to go back to Denver,” Malone said.
With the first Nuggets contract 2-0 lead In nine playoff series under Malone, they are Message from the coach It is keeping the throttle full and not giving the underdog wolves extra confidence.
the First Team in the Western Conference He shot like the sow he relied on and beat the coyotes on almost every long rebound. The Nuggets were twice up 9-0 in the first half and started the second quarter by hitting 12 of their first 16 shots on their way to a 13-point lead.
Edwards, who had 41 points in Game 2 for a franchise playoff record, single-handedly Bring back the wolves With this kind of starburst only players like him are capable of.
After a bad pass by Towns was caught by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Edwards lunged for the block and quickly converted a Euro-step on the other end. The Wolves kept up the momentum and cut the lead to 61-55 before halftime. They were still six points away at the end of the third quarter.
Wolves They won the game of play Here’s a week before Towns and Gobert, the unlikely big duo they created when Tim Connelly, the Nuggets’ former head of basketball operations, walked out on the same job in Minnesota and led to a hit deal for Gobert.
The Wolves attacked the basket better than they did in their first two plays, and Towns caught Jokic’s fourth foul with 5:51 remaining in the third quarter, but the 7-foot Serb was so skilled — and so much of a load — he beat it that way.
“Insult sounds a little different when ‘Joke’ isn’t there, but we make it work,” said Porter. “We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things.”
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Asked before the game about Jokic’s influence on Murray’s space and shooting, Finch took a subtle criticism of how Jokic – who has 14 fouls on the series – feels responsible.
“He does a really good job of examining and animating and examining at the same time, those kinds of things,” Finch said at his best.
In his inaugural press conference last summer, Joubert highlighted Finch’s allegations regarding his illegal bid with Utah.
Tip-ins
Nuggets: Pope Caldwell scored 11 of his 14 points in the second quarter. … Murray, who went 10-for-20 from deep in his first two games, was 1-for-6.
Timberwolves: Towns, who shot 8-for-27 from the field in the first two games, went 10-for-17. He’s 5-for-16 from 3-point range in the series.
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