Loading the games…
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Timberwolves | 33 | 29 | 17 | 26 | 105 |
 Nuggets | 23 | 39 | 29 | 25 | 116 |
MINTeam statsDEN| Team | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | 40-8746.0% | 11-3432.4% | 14-1973.7% | 43 | 21 | 13 |
| DEN | 38-8743.7% | 10-3627.8% | 30-3390.9% | 47 | 27 | 13 |
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 Nuggets116| 40 | 25 | 11-19 | 2-7 | 1-1 | 0 | +9 | +5.6 | |||||||
| 39 | 30 | 7-22 | 0-8 | 16-16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +13 | −0.2 | |||||
| 36 | 12 | 4-10 | 2-3 | 0 | 2-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2.8 | |||||
| 33 | 12 | 5-12 | 2-7 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +5 | −6.8 | ||||
| 29 | 17 | 5-10 | 1-5 | 6-8 | 0 | 0 | +8 | +3.1 | ||||||
| Bench | ||||||||||||||
| 24 | 7 | 2-6 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 0 | +9 | −3.8 | |||||||
| 21 | 8 | 3-7 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0 | +7 | +5.9 | |||||||
| 9 | 5 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | +0.8 | |
| 8 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | −3.4 | ||||
| Team | 116 | 38-8743.7% | 10-3627.8% | 47 | 27 | 13 | 17 | 30-3390.9% | 8 | 7 | 1 | |||
Bench 20 points on 6 for 14 shooting
Did not play: DaRon Holmes II, Tyus Jones, Zeke Nnaji, Jalen Pickett and Julian Strawther (coach’s decision).
Minnesota Timberwolves105| 38 | 22 | 7-19 | 2-9 | 6-7 | 0 | 0 | −3 | −1.1 | ||||||
| 38 | 17 | 8-9 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 0 | −8 | +1.8 | |||||||
| 33 | 16 | 6-14 | 0-4 | 4-4 | 0 | 0 | −17 | −1.9 | ||||||
| 31 | 12 | 4-9 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −0.6 | ||||||
| 31 | 16 | 7-16 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 0 | 0 | −9 | −4.4 | ||||||
| Bench | ||||||||||||||
| 28 | 14 | 5-10 | 3-7 | 0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | −8 | −1.6 | |||||
| 17 | 5 | 2-6 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | −7 | −4.7 | ||||||
| 11 | 3 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2.0 | |||||
| 7 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2.1 | ||||
| 5 | 0 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | −3.9 | |||
| Team | 105 | 40-8746.0% | 11-3432.4% | 43 | 21 | 13 | 25 | 14-1973.7% | 7 | 7 | 3 | |||
Bench 22 points on 8 for 20 shooting
Did not play: Julian Phillips, Terrence Shannon Jr., Joe Ingles, Jaylen Clark and Joan Beringer (coach’s decision).
Nuggets116Timberwolves105ClickTap 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.
The Denver Nuggets went on a 17-2 run in the third quarter to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-105 for a 1-0 lead in the first-round series.
It was tied at 68 when Aaron Gordon’s driving dunk put the Nuggets ahead for good with 7:32 left in the third quarter. Jamal Murray scored 8 points and Gordon added 7 as they pulled away to an 85-70 lead with 3:35 left in the quarter.
The Timberwolves got within 97-95 on Ayo Dosunmu’s driving layup with 6:23 to play, but Nikola Jokić answered with a three-point play, and the Timberwolves got no closer.
Late in the fourth quarter, Bruce Brown had 2 of his 5 steals, and the Nuggets scored 4 points off them.
Murray had 30 points and 7 assists but shot 7 for 22, making all 16 of his free throws. Jokić added 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, and Brown had 8 points and 5 steals.
For the Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards had 22 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks.
The Nuggets went 30 for 33 at the line to the Timberwolves’ 14 for 19. The Timberwolves got 7 offensive rebounds, about 5 fewer than usual for the shots they missed.
Denver NuggetsMinnesota TimberwolvesPS, Performance Score: points above what an average player adds in the same minutes. Wins: how much his shots, free throws, turnovers and passes moved his team’s chance to win (1.00 is a whole win).
86 points from the field on 86 shots: 5.2 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 | 14-19 | 73.7% | 67% |
| In the paint | 7-17 | 41.2% | 45% |
| Mid-range | 7-15 | 46.7% | 42% |
| Corner 3 | 4-12 | 33.3% | 39% |
| Above-the-break 3 | 6-24 | 25.0% | 35% |
| Guarded by | Poss | Pts | FG | vs usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaden McDaniels | 31 | 9 | 1-4 | −2 |
| Ayo Dosunmu | 20 | 6 | 2-3 | −1 |
| Anthony Edwards | 10 | 0 | 0-1 | −3 |
| Donte DiVincenzo | 7 | 2 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Everyone else | 16 | 11 | 4-13 | +5 |
The tracking credits him with 28 points on 85 possessions. He usually scores about 29 on that many.
| Guarded by | Poss | Pts | FG | vs usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rudy Gobert | 43 | 13 | 5-10 | −3 |
| Naz Reid | 10 | 0 | 0-0 | −4 |
| Julius Randle | 9 | 8 | 4-5 | +4 |
| Anthony Edwards | 9 | 2 | 1-3 | −1 |
| Everyone else | 18 | 2 | 1-1 | −5 |
The tracking credits him with 25 points on 89 possessions. He usually scores about 33 on that many.
| Guarded by | Poss | Pts | FG | vs usual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julius Randle | 23 | 8 | 2-5 | +2 |
| Naz Reid | 14 | 3 | 1-1 | −1 |
| Anthony Edwards | 7 | 2 | 1-2 | 0 |
| Rudy Gobert | 7 | 0 | 0-0 | −2 |
| Everyone else | 16 | 5 | 1-2 | 0 |
The tracking credits him with 18 points on 67 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.
Score margin over time — positive = DEN leads, negative = MIN leads
DEN Largest Lead
15
Q3 3:35
MIN Largest Lead
12
Q1 4:26
Key Scoring Runs (8+)
MIN 9-0 run
Q1 7:07 – Q1 5:40
-2 → -11
DEN 14-0 run
Q3 7:32 – Q3 4:15
0 → +14
DEN 8-0 run
Q4 1:50 – Q4 0:44
+5 → +13
