The Denver Nuggets outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-105 on Saturday in their thrilling Game 1 battle.
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Both teams played solid defense to start before the Timberwolves got out to a small advantage early. As Rudy Gobert did a solid job of defending Nikola Jokic, Anthony Edwards went to work on offense.
That hot streak didn’t last long as Jokic’s supporting cast helped the Nuggets slowly cut away at Minnesota’s lead.
After a quarter and a half, the game was tied. Both sides continued to exchange buckets for the rest of the frame and entered halftime tied at 62.
In the third quarter, Aaron Gordon helped the Nuggets go on a blistering 14-0 run and take full control of the matchup. By the end of the third quarter, Denver was ahead by 12.
The Wolves didn’t give up, though. They opened the final frame on a 10-2 scoring run to make it a competitive game. Minnesota pounded the paint as they cut the lead to two points with six minutes to go, but Denver’s heightened defense took over in clutch time.
Denver held the Timberwolves to just four made field goals in the final five minutes. While the Nuggets weren’t exactly hot on offense themselves, they put up enough points to secure the Game 1 victory.
Nikola Jokic had a triple-double with 25 points, 11 assists and 13 rebounds while Jamal Murray had 30 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
For Minnesota, Edwards led the way with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists but shot just 7-of-19 from the floor.
James Parker contributed to this story.
