The Minnesota Timberwolves secured a stunning 98-90 win against the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 at the Ball Arena. Jaden McDaniels and Karl-Anthony Towns led the way for the T-Wolves as they added 23 points on the night. Despite Anthony Edwards’ poor shooting night, he managed to score 16 points. The 22-year-old struggled, making only 6-24 shots, but his impact on the defensive end proved to be the difference for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Trailing by as many as 20 points, things were looking tough for the Wolves. However, they pulled it back in the second half with a magnificent defensive display. Mike Conley and Edwards in particular were making life extremely difficult for the Nuggets guards who looked solid in the first half. Rudy Gobert scored 13 points and grabbed 9 rebounds during the game. He had a highlight moment when he made a fadeaway shot, which sent shockwaves across the Arena.
Denver were looking really solid in the first half with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic making some big plays to help them take a solid lead into halftime. However, they were outplayed by the effort the T-Wolves displayed on the defensive end in the second half. The defending champions scored only 14 points in the third quarter, which resulted in the Wolves creeping their way into the matchup. Jokic and Murray combined to score 69 points, but the rest of the team failed to show up on the night, resulting in a second-round exit for the Nuggets.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Dallas Mavericks is going to be box office
Minnesota Timberwolves’ next matchup is against the Dallas Mavericks, who made it to the Western Conference Finals after beating the OKC Thunder in the second round. This is the first time since 2004 that a T-Wolves team has made it this far in the playoffs. Apart from Mike Conley and Monte Morris, no one from the franchise has been in a Conference Finals. This certainly puts pressure on the Wolves as their opponents, the Mavericks have the perfect mix of youth and experience.
The team have been led by an exciting young star, Anthony Edwards throughout the season. His ability to absorb all the pressure and still play well motivates the team to put up great performances. Down 3-2 in the series, everyone expected the Wolves to bow out, but Edwards showed confidence in his teammates and went out on a limb and announced that they would be back in Denver for Game 7. Not only did they go back for Game 7, but they went there and silenced the crowd with their defensive resilience in the second half of the game.
Timberwolves will certainly fancy their chances of beating the Mavs after clinching their series against the defending champions. However, the Mavs are a different team this season. Not only do they have offensive geniuses like Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, but they also have mavericks on the defensive end who are not afraid to guard the opposition team’s best player.
