Timberwolves eliminate Nuggets in Game 6

Minnesota just pulled off the kind of playoff win that changes how a team gets talked about. The Timberwolves beat Denver 110-98 in Game 6 on Thursday, May 1, and ended the series 4-2. That alone is big — Denver still had Nikola Jokić, playoff scar tissue, and the higher seed. But the real twist is that Minnesota did it while missing Anthony Edwards and other rotation guards, then still looked like the stronger, more organized team by the end. (fox9.com) ### How did Minnesota win this game? They won it the old-fashioned way — size, rebounding, and force. Minnesota went big and leaned into the frontcourt, which turned the game into a paint battle Denver never really solved. The Wolves finished with a 64-40 edge in points in the paint and a 50-33 advantage on the boards, so even when the half-court offense got messy, they kept creating easier shots than Denver did. (espn.com) ### Who carried them without Edwards? Jaden McDaniels had the headline game. He scored a playoff-career-high 32 points and added 10 rebounds, which is not the line Denver could afford to give up while focusing on Minnesota’s bigger names. Cameron Johnson added 27, and the Wolves got the kind of committee scoring contenders need when a star sits. It wasn’t one hot quarter from one bench guy — it was a whole replacement offense showing up on time. (nba.com) ### Why did the injuries matter so much? Because this was not a normal “next man up” situation. Minnesota was without Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, Ayo Dosunmu, and Kyle Anderson, which stripped out shot creation, ballhandling, and lineup flexibility all at once. Usually that kind of injury list means survival mode. Instead, the Wolves changed the shape of the game and made Denver play their version of it. That’s why this result lands as more than a routine upset. (fox9.com) ### What went wrong for Denver? Denver never got control of the physical part of the series, and that’s a problem when your margin depends on Jokić and Jamal Murray solving everything late. The Nuggets had stretches where they looked dangerous, but Minnesota kept winning the possession battle. When a team is getting outworked on the glass and outscored at the rim, the shot-making burden gets heavy fast. That’s basically what happened here. (espn.com) ### Is this really an upset? Yes — and not just because Minnesota was the No. 6 seed and Denver was No. 3. It’s an upset because the Wolves closed the series before a Game 7, against a team with the best player in the matchup, while short-handed. That changes the read on Minnesota from “dangerous lower seed” to “problem nobody wants.” CBS’s updated bracket now has the Wolves as the team that completed the West first-round upset and moved on. (cbssports.com) ### What comes next? San Antonio. The Spurs get Minnesota in the Western Conference semifinals, and Game 1 is set for Monday, May 4, at Frost Bank Center, with Game 2 on Wednesday, May 6. So the turnaround is quick, and that matters for a Wolves team that just survived a bruising series while missing key guards. Health is now the first question in the matchup. (ksat.com)does this matter beyond one series? Because Minnesota just showed it can win a playoff series in more than one style. If Edwards returns soon, the Wolves add star power back onto a group that already proved it can defend, rebound, and improvise under stress. That makes the Spurs series feel less like a reward for San Antonio and more like a real test. (ksat.com)just advance. They stripped the game down to toughness, size, and execution, then beat Denver with a version of themselves that was missing major pieces. In the playoffs, that travels. (nba.com)