Timberwolves erase 19‑point hole
- What happened: the Timberwolves rallied from a huge deficit to beat the Nuggets and even their first‑round series 1‑1. - The key specific: Denver blew a 19‑point lead after Nikola Jokić’s poster dunk over Rudy Gobert failed to close the game. - Context/reaction: the comeback forces the Nuggets to answer questions about closing ability and shifts home‑court pressure early in the series. (x.com)
Minnesota erased a 19-point deficit in Denver on April 20, beating the Nuggets 119-114 in Game 2 to send the first-round series back to Minneapolis tied 1-1. (espn.com) Denver led 44-25 early in the second quarter after a 39-25 first period, then watched Minnesota answer with a 39-25 second quarter of its own. Anthony Edwards scored 30 points and Julius Randle added 24 for the Timberwolves, while Jamal Murray scored 30 and Nikola Jokić finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. (espn.com) The closing sequence turned on execution, not highlight value. After Jokić passed up a floater that could have tied the game, Christian Braun missed one of two free throws with 19 seconds left, and Minnesota closed it with Randle free throws and a Donte DiVincenzo breakaway dunk. (espn.com) That result flipped a series Denver had nearly put in a familiar grip two nights earlier. In Game 1 on April 18, the Nuggets won 116-105 behind 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists from Jokić and 30 points from Murray. (nba.com) Instead of taking a 2-0 lead home with Minnesota facing its own history, Denver gave away the edge it built by earning the No. 3 seed and opening at Ball Arena. The NBA’s series page lists Game 3 for Thursday, April 23, at Target Center with the matchup tied 1-1. (nba.com) The matchup has been running for years, not weeks. NBA.com noted before this series that Denver and Minnesota had met 28 times since the start of the 2022-23 season, including regular-season games and three playoff meetings in four postseasons. (nba.com) Minnesota also had a recent blueprint for surviving a collapse threat in Denver. The Associated Press recap carried by ESPN noted that the Timberwolves came back from 20 down in Game 7 in Denver two years earlier, the biggest Game 7 comeback in league history. (espn.com) Game 2 fit that rivalry’s pattern: Denver landed the early punch, Jokić surged with 16 third-quarter points, and Minnesota still found the last run. Now the series moves to Minneapolis with the Nuggets no longer holding the cushion they built in the opener. (espn.com)
