After the Indiana Pacers, the Minnesota Timberwolves have also made it to the conference finals of the NBA playoffs. Anthony Edwards and his teammates dethroned defending champions Denver despite a 20-point hole in between
In the third quarter, the Minnesota Timberwolves no longer had much to play for. Game 7 in the lion’s den – and the Denver Nuggets lead 58:38. It would have been brave to bet a penny on the visitors from the north at this point. Especially as their top man Anthony Edwards did not get into the flow at all. And Nikola Jokic, the league’s MVP, was on court at the other end
What followed was a 28:9 run by the T-Wolves. “The effort was there. Our offense just didn’t work in the first half. We then simplified everything a bit,” their Head Coach Chris Finch was to say afterwards. So giving up was not the solution. “We didn’t shoot particularly well, but even when we were behind, our defense was always there. And then we just got hot in the third quarter.”
In the end, it was a 98:90 coup in the thin air of Colorado’s capital – and the Timberwolves are now in the conference finals of the playoffs. Their opponents: the Dallas Mavericks with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. The series begins on Thursday night (2.30 a.m. CEST).
Biggest comeback in Game 7
The US media report that there has never been a greater comeback by a team in the seventh game of the NBA playoffs. The team spirit and will of the visitors ultimately tipped the scales in this medium-sized sporting upheaval. After all, Jokic and Jamal Murray delivered quite well with 34 and 35 points respectively. However, the Nuggets were hardly able to come up with anything in the decisive phase.
Anthony Edwards, meanwhile, was able to rely on his colleagues on a mixed evening (16 points). Jaden McDaniels and Karl-Anthony Towns threw themselves into every ball and scored plenty (23 each). The T-Wolves’ defense held out effectively and Jokic also looked toothless and flat at the end after 47 minutes of action. Minnesota’s progress and revenge for the first-round defeat last April was perfect.
The Nuggets go into the summer break (and Jokic certainly goes to his horses). For the fifth time in a row, a reigning champion has not made it to the conference finals. There are now Minnesota and Dallas (outsiders with the bookmakers) and in the East the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers, who won Game 7 at the New York Knicks 130-109 earlier on Sunday.