Timberwolves Finish off Nuggets with Unbelievable Comeback in Game Seven
Photo Credit: David Zalubowski, Associated Press Photo
After fighting hard through six games of yet another close series in the Western Conference, the Minnesota Timberwolves(56-26) beat the Denver Nuggets(57-25) by a score of 98-90 according to ESPN, allowing the Timberwolves to advance to the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Though Denver once held a 20-point lead in the matchup, that lead proved to be too minimal for Mike Malone’s squad, as the Timberwolves were able to eventually come back and take the series against the Nuggets.
The game was a low scoring one, with both teams honing in defensively against one another. Seeing as each team had six games worth of information to study to make adjustments for the seventh game of the series, the final point total of 198 aligns with the idea of constantly adjusting a team’s gameplan in the playoffs.
Photo Credit: AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Though the seventh matchup was a low scoring one, an evident disparity in the starters’ production for both teams indicates a big reason why Minnesota was able to take the game and series against the Nuggets. While the Nuggets had only two players on their entire roster score above ten points- Nikola Jokić scoring 34 points and Jamal Murry scoring 35 points according to Pro Basketball Reference- Minnesota had six of the eight players that played score in double figures, with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels both scoring 23 points. Seeing as the Nuggets were clearly lacking production from three of their starters and all of their bench, it is clear to see why Minneosta was able to pick apart the Nuggets with a more balanced attack.
Photo Credit: AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Though both teams’ raw statistics in terms of field goal percentage and three-point percentage are lackluster(taking note of the highly defensive game), the Timberwolves slight edge in three-point shooting percentage could have also been a contributing factor to the team’s victory. The Timberwolves made ten of their 34 three-point attempts, shooting 29.4% from the three-point line, whereas the Nuggets only made eight of their 34 three-point attempts, only shooting 24.2% from the three-point line. While Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić went 6-22(27.2%) from the three-point line, the rest of the players on the team went 2-11(18.2%) from the three-point line. That obvious disparity demonstrates how the minimal production from the players on the Nuggets’ squad not named Nikola Jokić or Jamal Murray was insufficient to sustain the 20-point lead that was built up.
Photo Credit: Abbie Parr, Associated Press Photo
While the Timberwolves decreased production from recent breakout Anthony Edwards, they were able to make up for it with scoring from both Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels. Edwards was averaging 30.2 points per game in this year’s playoffs before scoring 16 points in the last matchup against the Nuggets. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels had averaged 18.4 points per game and 11.3 points per game in this year’s playoffs before each scoring 23 points, which is above those two averages. Noting this versatility of the Timberwolves shows that when all starters are on their game, or even when one or two star players on the team are performing below their season average, the Wolves have players that can pick up that slack.
The first game of the Western Conference Finals will be played in Minnesota, where the Mavericks hope to make up for their 2022 Western Conference Finals loss, and the Minnesota Timberwolves hope to make the NBA Finals for the first time in their franchise history.
