In Game 3, the Nuggets are focused on completing the sweep of the Wolves
The Denver Nuggets’ attention turned to achieving something that has never been done in team history after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of their first-round series on Friday night.
The Nuggets coach Michael Malone stated, “Up 3-0, our mindset right now is — no disrespect to the T-Wolves because this is about us — but we don’t want to go back to Denver.”
After winning the first two games of the series at home, Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic, who ended with 20 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds for his sixth postseason triple-double, claimed Denver didn’t want to let up. He sneered, saying it didn’t make sense to him that the Nuggets didn’t need to win Game 3.
Jokic remarked, “We didn’t want to give them life. “We desired to take the offensive. First, we wanted to punch them. They must respond to us. That was the idea. We performed a good job, in my opinion.
Denver would become the first postseason team to sweep a series of any length if it wins Game 4. Since the conference semifinal matchup against the Dallas Mavericks in 2009, the Nuggets have only been up 3-0 in a series twice. They lost Game 4 in Dallas before recovering and winning Game 5 to wrap up the series.
The Timberwolves, who are attempting to avoid being swept for the first time in a seven-game series, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Memphis Grizzlies are the other three franchises without a series sweep in their collective franchise histories.
We are aware that the final game in a series is frequently the most difficult one, according to Malone. “I’m hopeful we can figure something out. Having the attitude of “Hey, we can just go back and close it in Denver” is not advisable. It should be our goal to win Game 4 and seal the deal.
As the game got underway, Minnesota took the initiative and capitalised on the enthusiasm of the packed Target Centre crowd to take the lead quickly. Denver, though, matched the score at the end of the quarter and went on to win the game.
Guard Jamal Murray of the Nuggets stated, “We knew what we had to accomplish. “They started off hostile. They turn out exactly way they should. I believe we handled the pressure well and managed to calm down.
With 25 points and nine rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. led the Nuggets. The two Nuggets that didn’t score in double figures were Christian Braun (nine points) and Jeff Green (eight points).
Porter commended the team’s depth for being able to play at a high level even without Jokic.
“I think Aaron [Gordon] and Jeff out there give us a very versatile lineup that we didn’t see a whole lot during the regular season, but it’s working great for us because we can just switch one through five, and then we just try to get stops and run,” Porter said. When Jok isn’t playing, the offence appears a little bit different, but we’ve been able to make it work. We simply have a tonne of guys who are skilled at many different things.
Compared to Games 1 or 2, the Timberwolves made a far stronger overall effort, but it was insufficient.
Anthony Edwards scored 36 points overall and attempted more free throws individually (15) than the Nuggets collectively (13). On 10-of-17 shooting, Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 27 points.
Edwards joined LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, and Kobe Bryant as the only players in NBA history to score 30 points in back-to-back playoff games while still under the age of 21. Only James (83 and 79) has scored more points in consecutive postseason games than Edwards (77) among players 21 or younger in NBA history.
Mike Conley, a seasoned guard, acknowledged the defeat on Friday was upsetting. Early in the fourth quarter, Minnesota made it a one-possession game and twice in the final six minutes, they lowered the deficit to five points, but they were unable to narrow the gap.
Conley remarked, “Guys played hard.” Had a few of minor breakdowns. They certainly gave them room to move throughout the length down there. We relied on several different players to enter the game and provide us with minutes overall, and this is one that we would dearly love to have back.
