DENVER — Anthony Edwards scored a playoff career-high 43 points, Naz Reid scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the defending NBA champions in Game 1 of their second-round series on Saturday. defeated the Denver Nuggets 106-99. night.
Edwards could not stop the momentum, scoring 25 points in the first half, and the lead changed hands in the fourth quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 points despite being in foul trouble.
“The whole team, we trust each other,” said Edwards, who was 17 of 29 from the floor. “It doesn’t matter who takes the shot until the end. … I trust my teammates.”
Edwards had a 40-point performance in a shutout of the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of that first-round series. He joined Kobe Bryant in 2001 as the only players under the age of 22 to score consecutive 40 points in NBA postseason history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Game 2 will be played Monday night in Denver.
Three days after undergoing knee surgery, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was on the second row of the bench, next to the scorer’s table and behind assistant coach Mika Nori.
“Every play that resulted in a goal was my decision, and the play that we didn’t score was his decision,” Nori said. ”[Finch] It was amazing. He used the phrase, “I don’t want it to look clunky.” we did a good job on that. ”
Two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 32 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for Denver, but also had seven turnovers. They were held scoreless in the first half, but Jamal Murray scored 17 points.
With the score tied at 84, the Timberwolves opened the game with an 18-7 lead. At one point, Reed led the Timberwolves to 10 consecutive points in a critical juncture.
The Timberwolves were tough for Denver last year despite being without Reid (broken wrist) and Jaden McDaniels (broken hand) and with Karl-Anthony Towns missing 52 games with a severe calf strain. He was my opponent in the first round. This time, not a single Timberwolves player was listed on the injury report.
Denver coach Michael Malone suggested that the Timberwolves are much better thanks to Edwards’ dramatic improvement in his game, in addition to being healthier.
“There’s no weakness in his game,” Malone said. “And it’s going to be a huge challenge to slow him down.”
Especially when he has so much help.
“Naz Reid stepped up, Karl-Anthony Towns stepped up, Mike Conley stepped up. Anthony Edwards led the day in the first half,” Malone said. “But I felt like we lacked a lot of discipline and physicality in the second half. And they got everything they wanted.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
