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| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Timberwolves | 29 | 18 | 30 | 32 | 109 |
 Nuggets | 22 | 26 | 29 | 35 | 112 |
MINTeam statsDEN| Team | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | 41-8150.6% | 8-3324.2% | 19-2576.0% | 40 | 24 | 14 |
| DEN | 34-8540.0% | 12-3435.3% | 32-3688.9% | 47 | 22 | 12 |
Point at or clickTap a player to see his shots, then his whole game from there. ClickTap a number under REB, AST, STL, BLK, TO or PF to see those plays.
Denver Nuggets112| 42 | 28 | 8-29 | 3-8 | 9-10 | +3 | +8.7 | ||||||||
| 41 | 35 | 12-23 | 5-9 | 6-6 | 0 | −5 | +7.3 | |||||||
| 39 | 8 | 3-10 | 2-7 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | +9 | −4.8 | |||||
| 34 | 14 | 4-9 | 0-3 | 6-7 | 0 | −3 | −1.6 | |||||||
| 26 | 10 | 3-6 | 1-4 | 3-3 | 0 | 0 | −6 | −2.5 | ||||||
| Bench | ||||||||||||||
| 30 | 14 | 3-6 | 0-2 | 0 | 8-8 | 0 | +8 | −0.9 | ||||||
| 19 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0-2 | +2 | −3.9 | ||||||
| 10 | 3 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | +7 | −0.4 | |||||
| Team | 112 | 34-8540.0% | 12-3435.3% | 47 | 22 | 12 | 21 | 32-3688.9% | 16 | 10 | 3 | |||
Bench 17 points on 4 for 8 shooting
Did not play: Thomas Bryant, Vlatko Čančar, Reggie Jackson, DeAndre Jordan, Zeke Nnaji, Ish Smith and Peyton Watson (coach’s decision).
Minnesota Timberwolves109| 40 | 16 | 5-6 | 0-0 | 6-9 | 0 | +2 | +2.8 | |||||||
| 40 | 29 | 13-27 | 0-6 | 3-4 | 0 | 0 | +2.5 | |||||||
| 38 | 7 | 2-7 | 1-4 | 2-2 | 0 | +6 | −2.8 | |||||||
| 38 | 26 | 9-17 | 1-6 | 7-9 | −9 | +1.4 | ||||||||
| 38 | 14 | 5-11 | 3-9 | 0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | +10 | −2.0 | |||||
| Bench | ||||||||||||||
| 22 | 13 | 5-10 | 3-7 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | −5 | −1.7 | |||||
| 14 | 2 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | −13 | −1.2 | |||||
| 8 | 2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −8 | −3.1 | |||
| 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 0.0 | |
| Team | 109 | 41-8150.6% | 8-3324.2% | 40 | 24 | 14 | 27 | 19-2576.0% | 8 | 9 | 4 | |||
Bench 17 points on 7 for 13 shooting
Did not play: Wendell Moore Jr., Josh Minott and Jordan McLaughlin (coach’s decision).
Nuggets112Timberwolves109ClickTap a team’s number to see the plays behind it.
PS, Performance Score: points above what an average player adds in the same minutes. The game’s highs are in blue, hot shooting in gold, cold in gray. ClickTap a column’s heading to sort by it.
Nikola Jokić had 28 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists, and the Denver Nuggets rallied from 15 points down in the first quarter to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-109 in Game 5 of the first round to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.
The Nuggets trailed 27-12 with 2:09 left in the first quarter. They outscored the Timberwolves 100-82 the rest of the way.
Jokić’s hook shot with 28.1 seconds left made it 108-104. The Timberwolves had the ball down 3 after a timeout, but Anthony Edwards missed a 28-foot pull-up 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.
During clutch time, the Timberwolves outscored the Nuggets 16-15. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 6 of the Timberwolves’ 16 on 2 for 4 shooting and 2 for 3 at the line. In the fourth quarter, Michael Porter Jr. had 2 steals, both with the game within five points, and the Nuggets scored 4 points off them. In that stretch, Edwards had 4 of his 7 assists, all with the game within 5 points.
Jamal Murray scored 35 points with 5 3-pointers. Murray and Jokić set each other up for 9 baskets and 22 points, 4 of them 3-pointers.
For the Timberwolves, Edwards had 29 points (18 in the paint), 8 rebounds and 7 assists, and Towns added 26 points and 11 rebounds.
The Timberwolves gave up 16 offensive rebounds, about 4 more than usual for the shots the Nuggets missed. They outscored the Nuggets 58-40 in the paint. Towns and Rudy Gobert fouled out.
Denver NuggetsMinnesota TimberwolvesPS, Performance Score: points above what an average player adds in the same minutes.
The five plays that moved the chance to win most, in order.
Each play from the side of the team that made it: its chance to win before and after, and the change in percentage points. On the court, each shot is the shooter’s face (gray when he missed), bigger the more it moved the chance. Chances from the site’s game model (the per-play numbers the Clutch and Performances tabs use aren’t built for this game).
80 points from the field on 85 shots: 9.5 fewer than the league scores from the same zones.
Point at a shooter to see his shots light up; click for his shots alone.
| Zone | FG | % | League |
|---|---|---|---|
| At the rim | 12-17 | 70.6% | 67% |
| In the paint | 8-21 | 38.1% | 44% |
| Mid-range | 2-13 | 15.4% | 42% |
| Corner 3 | 1-12 | 8.3% | 39% |
| Above-the-break 3 | 11-22 | 50.0% | 35% |
| Guarded by | Poss | Pts | FG | vs usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickeil Alexander-Walker | 47 | 18 | 7-9 | +3 |
| Mike Conley | 9 | 3 | 1-3 | 0 |
| Austin Rivers | 9 | 4 | 1-4 | +1 |
| Rudy Gobert | 7 | 6 | 2-3 | +4 |
| Everyone else | 13 | 8 | 3-7 | +4 |
The tracking credits him with 39 points on 85 possessions. He usually scores about 27 on that many.
| Guarded by | Poss | Pts | FG | vs usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 41 | 7 | 1-14 | −8 |
| Rudy Gobert | 25 | 12 | 4-11 | +3 |
| Anthony Edwards | 7 | 5 | 2-2 | +2 |
| Mike Conley | 6 | 3 | 1-1 | +1 |
| Everyone else | 11 | 2 | 1-2 | −2 |
The tracking credits him with 29 points on 90 possessions. He usually scores about 34 on that many.
| Guarded by | Poss | Pts | FG | vs usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rudy Gobert | 35 | 8 | 2-4 | −2 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 12 | 4 | 1-2 | +1 |
| Anthony Edwards | 8 | 2 | 1-3 | 0 |
| Taurean Prince | 5 | 0 | 0-0 | −1 |
| Everyone else | 7 | 2 | 1-1 | 0 |
The tracking credits him with 16 points on 66 possessions. He usually scores about 19 on that many.
What the players each one guarded scored, against what they usually score on as many possessions.
Possessions, and parts of possessions when defenders switched, from the NBA’s matchup tracking. The line under a defender’s name: his share of the scorer’s possessions. Usual: what the scorer averaged a possession against every defender in the regular season, eased toward the league’s rate when he has few possessions.
DEN win probability — AI model powered by play-by-play data
MIN
50/50
DEN
Highest Leverage Moments
Porter Jr. 24' 3PT Jump Shot (8 PTS) (Gordon 2 AST)
Q4 3:35
18.8%
60→79
Jokic 4' Hook Shot (26 PTS) (Murray 5 AST)
Q4 0:28
18.5%
77→96
Jokic Tip Layup Shot (24 PTS)
Q4 0:53
17.8%
55→73
Edwards 7' Driving Layup (27 PTS)
Q4 1:46
16.3%
73→56
Towns 6' Floating Jump Shot (26 PTS) (Conley 9 AST)
Q4 1:12
16.3%
73→56
