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After losing back-to-back games at home, the Minnesota Timberwolves hope to stay unbeaten on the Denver Nuggets’ home floor in Game 5. Minnesota, which surrendered a 2-0 series lead, is looking to move ahead in the semi-final round with another victory in Mile High City. Mike Conley was ruled out for the game due to a right Achilles injury so the visitors’ task will be unquestionably tough.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets game player stats and box scores
Minnesota Timberwolves game player stats and box scores
Denver Nuggets game player stats and box scores
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets Game Summary
The first quarter, unsurprisingly, was a back-and-forth between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets. Despite Conley's absence, Nickeil Alexander-Walker admirably stepped up to take up the slack. Nikola Jokic had a fast start but Denver ended the first 12 minutes with just a 28-26 advantage.
Minnesota's offense looked sluggish without the veteran Conley but "NAW" and Karl-Anthony Towns took up the scoring slack. Anthony Edwards didn't have his stroke and finished with five points on 1-for-8 shooting in 22 minutes.
The Timberwolves' defense, however, kept the Nuggets from pulling away. Nikola Jokic had 19 points but no other teammate reached double-digit scoring. The hosts held a 50-44 advantage before both teams left the court for the halftime break.
“The Joker” received his third NBA MVP award in four years before Game 5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves versus Denver Nuggets series. He showed why in the third quarter he was deserving of the said accolade. Jokic lit up the Timberwolves with 16 points in the said period to lead 88-74 with the final quarter still underway.
The Serbian caused Karl-Anthony Towns to sit for extended minutes due to foul trouble and made Rudy Gobert look silly on multiple occasions. Nuggets coach Mike Malone, during an on-court interview before the fourth quarter that they would be on a different level if Jokic was that aggressive.
Minnesota desperately tried to rally in the fourth quarter but Jokic and Jamal Murray kept the Nuggets in front. When “The Joker” slowed down a bit with under two minutes left, it was Murray who took them home.
Anthony Edwards regained his shooting touch but it was too late for the Timberwolves who lost for the third straight time in the series. Before the showdown with the Nuggets, they had never lost in three consecutive games in the regular season and the first round.
The Denver Nuggets are finally ahead 3-2 in the series after drubbing the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-97 in Game 5.
Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray's 3-pointers tonight
Both Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns had a 1-for-3 clip from deep in the first half.
Jamal Murray, surprisingly, did not jack up one shot from the same distance during the same stretch. Nikola Jokic had a modest 1-for-2 line from a similar range.
"Ant-Man" and "KAT" ended the night with a combined 3-for-10 line from behind the arc in Game 5.
Murray continued to refuse even attempting one shot from the same range while Jokic made two of three tries.
