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The Denver Nuggets could become the first team to advance to the Western Conference semi-finals as they lead the series vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-0.
Nikola Jokic had his seventh career playoff triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. The Nuggets beat the Timberwolves 120-111 on Friday to come a step away from sweeping the series.
Denver rolled to a 29-point win in Game 1 (80-109) and had a comfortable nine-point margin in Game 2. They knew Minnesota would fight for its life on Friday and played with a sense of desperation in Game 3.
“We didn’t want to give them life," said Jokic, the two-time reigning NBA MVP who led the league with 29 triple-doubles this season. “We wanted to be the aggressor. We wanted to punch them first.”
Denver has dominated all three games so far and will look to close out the series in Game 4 on Sunday. That would secure several days of rest before the start of the semi-finals.
“Proud of the group," Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. "They handled their business like they’re supposed to, like mature teams do.
“No disrespect to the T-wolves, this is about us, but we don’t want to go back to Denver. Our mindset should be to close it in Game 4.”
This is the first time in nine playoff series under coach Michael Malone that Denver is up 3-0 and the veteran coach doesn't want to see his players give Minnesota confidence that they can turn things around.
“What we have to do is not be satisfied,” Malone said after Game 2. “If you’re going to be a great team, you’ve got to be selfish. Be selfish ... man. Let’s go up and get Game 3. Let’s not be complacent.
“That was my biggest concern coming into tonight and it will be an even bigger concern going into Game 3. We know it’s going to be a crazy environment there. Their fans have been asking for Denver. Well, here we come.”
Jamal Murray looks like "Bubble Murray" for the Denver Nuggets in his first playoff games since 2020
Aside from Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets have seen Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. make an impressive start to the postseason. Both stars were out last season and their absence hurt the Nuggets in the 2022 playoffs.
Their performance has been key to the Nuggets' dominant lead in the series against Minnesota. In the first three games, Jamal Murray averages 27,3 points, while Porter Jr. adds an average of 19,6 points per game.
“It's nice,” Murray said after his first two playoff games at Ball Arena in Denver. “It's nice having a crowd. They got me going. That fires us up and gives us a lot of life even when we're not playing our best.
“I knew they would anyway, our fans are great,” Michael Malone said. “But just to reward him and acknowledge the effort he just gave forth. He left a piece of him out there tonight.”
Michael Porter Jr., who missed last year's run with a back injury, said Jamal Murray used his time off to improve his basketball IQ. Murray was out for almost 18 months with an ACL injury.
“I told him the other day I feel like he's better now than before the injury,” Porter said. “I know he probably doesn't feel it, but just his overall game, his awareness, he had like a year off where he had to just watch.”
The Denver Nuggets have dominated the Timberwolves and have outscored them in 11 of the 12 quarters in the series.
They have averaged 117 points in their first three games and have allowed just 101,3 points per game. Role players Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown and Jeff Green also play at high standards, giving coach Malone extra weapons on both ends.
The Denver Nuggets have played consistent basketball on both ends all season long and will look to continue in the same way. They are set to play the winner of the Phoenix Suns vs LA Clippers series, with the Suns leading 3-1.
Against a superteam like Phoenix, the Denver Nuggets will need all their players at their very best as they aim for a deep postseason run. So far, they have shown that this year might be their best chance of going all the way and challenging for the NBA Finals.
