Nuggets blown 19‑point lead
- Denver surrendered a 19‑point advantage and lost Game 2 to Minnesota, evening that first-round series 1–1. (x.com) - The sequence included Nikola Jokić getting posterized by Rudy Gobert during Minnesota’s comeback rally. (x.com) - That collapse forces Denver to address late‑game spacing and defensive communication before the next matchup. (x.com)
Denver let a 19-point first-half lead turn into a 119-114 loss to Minnesota on Monday, sending the first-round series to Minneapolis tied 1-1. (espn.com) The Nuggets were up 44-25 early in the second quarter at Ball Arena after a 39-point first period, then gave back that margin when Minnesota answered with a 39-25 second quarter of its own. (espn.com) Anthony Edwards finished with 30 points and Julius Randle added 24 for Minnesota, while Jamal Murray scored 30 and Nikola Jokić had 24 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for Denver. (espn.com) The result wiped out Denver’s chance to take a 2-0 series lead before the matchup shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Thursday, April 23, at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. (nba.com) Denver had opened the series with a 116-105 win on April 18 behind Murray’s 30 points and Jokić’s 25-point triple-double, so Game 2 reversed the early shape of the matchup in two nights. (espn.com) The swing came after Minnesota looked stuck early and then started getting downhill, with Edwards attacking the basket more than he did in Game 1, according to the Associated Press recap published by ESPN. (espn.com) Late in Game 2, Denver still had a chance after Edwards turned the ball over with 31 seconds left, but Christian Braun split two free throws with 19 seconds remaining and left the Nuggets down 115-114. (espn.com) Minnesota closed it from there with two free throws by Randle and a breakaway dunk by Donte DiVincenzo, part of a finish that turned a Denver runaway into a split series. (espn.com) The teams have seen this script before. The Associated Press noted that Minnesota, two years earlier, came back from 20 down in a Game 7 win over Denver on the way to the Western Conference finals. (espn.com) Now the Nuggets head to Minnesota with the series reset, after leading by 19 in Game 2 and losing home-court control before Game 3. (nba.com)
