DENVER — Minneapolis is going to party like it’s 2004. For the first time in two decades, the Minnesota Timberwolves are back in the Western Conference finals.
The Wolves, trailing by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, came back to dethrone the defending champion Denver Nuggets 98-90 in Game 7 on Sunday night.
In the process, they overcame a 15-point halftime deficit, the largest such comeback in a Game 7 in NBA playoff history.
With Minnesota’s 22-year-old rising star Anthony Edwards struggling during a 6-of-24 shooting night, Wolves four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns turned in the most impressive performance of his nine-year career.
Featured
1 related
Towns, the franchise’s first pick in 2015 and the team’s oldest member, scored 23 points with 12 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. More importantly, he put forth as effective a one-on-one defensive effort against three-time Denver MVP Nikola Jokic as could be expected from anyone.
Jokic finished with 34 points and 19 rebounds, but was 13 of 28 and 2 of 10 on three-pointers.
It was Towns’ fifth 20-point effort in the postseason, with all five coming on the road.
The Wolves used a 32-9 run from 10:50 of the third quarter to 11:14 of the fourth to wrest control of the game from the Nuggets. While Edwards started off just 1 of 9 from the field, he found his rhythm late, scoring nine points in the third, including a step-back 3-pointer to beat the fourth-quarter buzzer.
MINIMUM | DEN | |
---|---|---|
points | 58 | 32 |
F.G. | 18-36 | 12-35 |
3 FG points | 6-16 | 3-19 |
— Keynote USA statistics and information |
Four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert added an unexpected offensive punch in the fourth quarter, scoring 8 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a miraculous arcing jump shot, after starting the game 1-for-5 .
Minnesota went ahead by as many as 10 in the quarter on Edwards’ corner 3-pointer with 3:05 left, prompting the Nuggets to call a timeout as Edwards screamed and jumped for joy, hugging a fan on the court.
The twentieth meeting of the two teams between the regular season and playoffs since the start of 2022-23 turned out to be a classic. It was also the most compelling game in the series. Only two of the first six conference semifinal games were decided by fewer than 10 points, while three games involved a final margin of more than 25 points.
“I think if we played that team a hundred times, it would be 50-50,” Denver coach Michael Malone said after Saturday’s practice. “You just have two really talented teams (that are separated) depending on the day, who warms up, who hits.”
The Wolves will face the Dallas Mavericks for the right to represent the West in the NBA Finals. Minnesota will host Game 1 on Wednesday.
The Timberwolves open as -150 favorites to win the series over the Mavericks, who are +130, according to Keynote USA BET odds.
“I’d say it’s another step forward,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said before the game when asked to sum up his team’s season. “We’re trying to build something here, you know?”
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow @Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.