Jokić leads Nuggets Game 1

Nikola Jokić opened Denver’s playoffs with a triple-double, and the Nuggets beat Minnesota 116-105 in Game 1 on Saturday night. (nba.com) Jokić finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists at Ball Arena, while Jamal Murray scored 30 points and went 16-for-16 at the free-throw line. (nba.com) Minnesota led 62-52 at halftime, but Denver flipped the game in the middle quarters, outscoring the Timberwolves 68-43 across the second and third periods combined. (espn.com) The series opened as a matchup between the West’s No. 3 seed and No. 6 seed, with Denver entering at 54-28 and Minnesota at 49-33. Denver had already won three of the teams’ four regular-season meetings. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Early playoff coverage centered on Denver’s rotation looking whole again, with Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson available after health issues had thinned the group late in the season. (sports.yahoo.com) That mattered in Game 1 because Denver got through foul trouble and a fourth-quarter Minnesota push without losing control for long. The Timberwolves cut the margin to two with 6:23 left, and Denver closed from there. (nbcsports.com) Anthony Edwards was cleared to play after missing 11 of Minnesota’s final 14 regular-season games for right knee maintenance, and he entered the series averaging 30.3 points in three regular-season games against Denver. (sports.yahoo.com) Game 1 was physical from the start: Denver coach David Adelman took a technical foul in the first quarter, and Jaden McDaniels was called for a flagrant foul on Murray’s jumper. (espn.com) Game 2 is set for Monday, April 20, in Denver, with the Nuggets up 1-0 and back in the shape that made them a harder first-round draw than their seed suggested. (nba.com)