Denver warns opponents
- Denver’s opening‑week performance reminded observers not to overlook them in the West playoffs. (nbcsports.com) - Analysts cited specific areas where Denver sustained pressure and recovered late in games. (nbcsports.com) - The takeaway was that Denver’s playoff identity may be repeatable rather than a one‑game flash. (nbcsports.com)
Denver opened the Western Conference playoffs by beating Minnesota 116-105 on April 18, and the way it did it looked familiar to anyone who has watched its deep postseason runs. (nba.com) The Nuggets, the No. 3 seed at 54-28, took a 1-0 lead over the No. 6 Timberwolves and host Game 2 on Monday, April 20, at Ball Arena. Minnesota went 49-33 and had reached the Western Conference finals in 2024 and 2025. (nba.com) Game 1 turned on Denver’s stars and Denver’s middle quarters. Jamal Murray scored 30 points, Nikola Jokić posted 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, and the Nuggets outscored Minnesota 68-46 across the second and third quarters. (espn.com) The late-game sequence mattered as much as the box score. After Minnesota cut the margin to 106-101 with three minutes left, Denver closed on a 10-2 run, and coach David Adelman said Jokić and Murray let the Nuggets “control the game at the end.” (nba.com) That formula is the core of Denver’s playoff identity: Jokić and Murray run the two-man game, the defense survives rough stretches, and the offense waits for the matchup to tilt back its way. NBA.com tied that pattern directly to the team’s 2023 championship blueprint. (nba.com) The matchup also comes with recent history. Saturday was the 29th meeting between Denver and Minnesota since the start of the 2022-23 season, and the teams had split the previous 28 games before Denver moved ahead in this series. (nba.com) Denver had already shown this was not a one-night spike. The Nuggets won the regular-season series 3-1, finished the regular season on a 12-game winning streak, and earned home-court advantage in the first round while managing injuries across the roster. (nba.com) NBC Sports put Denver among the early opening-weekend takeaways from the 2026 bracket, a bracket that began April 18 with Oklahoma City as defending champion and Denver trying to reassert itself in the West. (nbcsports.com) Game 2 arrives Monday night with Denver up 1-0 and back on its preferred script: Jokić and Murray in control, Ball Arena still in play, and Minnesota already chasing the series. (espn.com)
