The Minnesota Timberwolves held the Denver Nuggets to 11 points in the opening quarter Thursday night — a new postseason franchise record — and never let up, beating Denver 113-96 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench to score 25 points with nine assists. Jaden McDaniels added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Donte DiVincenzo chipped in 15 points and four steals. Together, they drove relentlessly at a Denver defense that had no answer, helping Minnesota build a 61-39 halftime lead and eventually a 27-point cushion in the third quarter.
The Timberwolves outscored the Nuggets 68-34 in points in the paint.
Rudy Gobert, the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, was again the central reason Denver's offense stalled. He held Nikola Jokic — a three-time league MVP — to 7-for-26 from the field. Jokic finished with 27 points and 15 rebounds, numbers that came too late to matter. "He's the greatest offensive player I've guarded in my whole career," Gobert said. "Just trying to enjoy the challenge." Gobert himself recorded 10 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Jamal Murray managed 16 points on 5-for-17 shooting. The Nuggets, who ranked as the league's best three-point shooting team during the regular season, have now connected on just 30 percent of their threes in the series, going 33 for 109.
Denver was also without Aaron Gordon, who missed the game with a calf injury. Nuggets coach David Adelman pointed to the shooting struggles as the primary problem. "We only gave up 25 points in the first quarter. That's actually a very good number. We just had a hard time making shots tonight," he said. "Our physicality offensively has got to get better."
Jokic offered a different read on what Minnesota was doing. "They're kind of pushing the pace, playing faster," he said. "Don't let us set our defense, and then just driving the ball and trying to be aggressive."
McDaniels had drawn attention before the game for calling Denver's players "bad defenders" after Game 2. Rather than motivating the Nuggets, the remark seemed to galvanize Minnesota. He opened the scoring with a three-pointer from the top of the key and added a one-handed slam in traffic. "We're being decisive," Dosunmu said. "That's what it's all about."
Game 4 remains in Minneapolis.
