Nuggets win Game 1
- Denver beat Minnesota 116-105 in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series on April 18. - The 116-105 final handed the Nuggets a 1-0 lead to open the series. - The result came as the NBA playoffs kicked off and the full bracket, schedule, and live coverage went live across ESPN and Sporting News. (vavel.com, espn.com)
Denver opened its first-round series by beating Minnesota 116-105 on April 18, taking a 1-0 lead at Ball Arena. (nba.com) Jamal Murray scored 30 points and went 16-for-16 at the free-throw line, while Nikola Jokić finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for a triple-double. (espn.com) Minnesota led 33-23 after the first quarter, but Denver swung the game with a 39-29 second quarter and a 29-17 third that turned a 10-point deficit into a double-digit lead. (foxsports.com) The matchup reopened one of the West’s recent playoff rivalries. Minnesota knocked Denver out in seven games in the 2024 Western Conference semifinals, and the teams met again Saturday as the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds in the 2026 bracket. (nba.com) This time Denver had home court after finishing the regular season 54-28, while Minnesota entered at 49-33. Game 1 gave the Nuggets an early edge in a series that shifts on short rest, with Game 2 scheduled for April 20 in Denver. (espn.com, nba.com) Anthony Edwards scored 26 points for Minnesota, but Denver held the Timberwolves to 17 points in the third quarter and limited the damage after its sloppy start. (espn.com, denverpost.com) The opener landed on the first full weekend of the 2026 National Basketball Association playoffs, with the league’s first-round bracket and daily schedule rolling out across national broadcasts and live trackers. (espn.com) Game 1 did not decide the series, but it gave Denver the first result it needed: a home win, a 1-0 lead, and another playoff meeting with Minnesota pushed immediately onto the next date. (nba.com)
