DENVER, Col. – Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards each had 27 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves put the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets in a precarious position Monday after their dominating victory, 106-80 in Game 2 .
The first two duels of this semi-final in the West could hardly have been less convincing from the Nuggets, after their elimination of the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the first round.
Poor starts continue to be the theme of the Nuggets’ playoff run thus far: after seven games, they have trailed at halftime six times.
If they managed to plug the gaps in the second half on a few occasions against LA, Michael Malone’s men had very little chance of rebounding this time, suffering a monster deficit of 26 points (61-35) at the break.
Despite a comeback effort in the third quarter, this same gap of 26 points was maintained at the time of the final whistle, mixed with boos coming from the stands of the Ball Arena.
The « MVP » of the 2023 playoffs Nikola Jokic was practically silenced in the first half, with a slim collection of eight points.
Jokic finished his night of work with 16 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. He had shooting problems, only 5 for 13.
His Canadian sidekick Jamal Murray had an even more miserable match, shooting 3 for 18, two days after holding out without a point in the first half of the first match.
The T-Wolves’ offensive star in Game 1, Edwards continued to stun the Denver defense with spectacular drives to the basket.
For his part, Towns, in resplendent form, caused damage around the ring, and his 12 rebounds were no stranger to this.
The Nuggets will try to change the rhythm of the series Friday night in Minnesota, in a Targer Center which risks being electric, T-Wolves fans having not had playoff basketball to sink their teeth into since 2004 .
2024-05-07 04:28:00
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