The Minnesota Timberwolves host the Denver Nuggets Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. EDT in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series, with the teams locked at one win apiece.
Minnesota took Game 2 on Tuesday, 119-114, with Anthony Edwards leading all scorers with 30 points. Jamal Murray matched him from the Denver side with 30 of his own. The series now shifts back to Minneapolis with the Nuggets installed as slight one-and-a-half-point favorites.
The Nuggets have been the hotter team over the past month. Denver went 9-1 in its final ten regular season games, averaging 127.5 points per game during that stretch while shooting 49.4 percent from the field. Minnesota went 5-5 over the same period, averaging 117.9 points.
Murray has been Denver's engine all season, averaging 25.4 points and 7.1 assists. Nikola Jokic has averaged 23.4 points over the last ten games. For Minnesota, Julius Randle averages 21.1 points and 6.7 rebounds, while Edwards anchors the paint attack on a team that ranks eighth in the Western Conference in points in the paint.
Denver will be without Peyton Watson, who is out with a hamstring injury. Minnesota has no listed injuries heading into the game.
