The Minnesota Timberwolves gutted out an ugly win at the Intuit Dome on Thursday night before having two days off to prepare for a familiar opponent. The last time these two teams met up in a nationally televised affair was fireworks on Christmas Night between Nikola Jokić and Anthony Edwards duking it out in an overtime thriller where Denver came out on top.
This game could have big playoff implications as the weather warms up and teams prepare for the playoff battle ahead. Both teams head into today
boasting a 37-23 record in a dead tie for the 4th seed in the Western Conference. While the Nuggets have already secured the tiebreaker, the ability to move ahead of them this late in the season is a prime opportunity to get up to the three seed.
Denver started the game out of rhythm and missing open looks, while the Timberwolves followed suit with some wobbly offense of their own. Anthony Edwards was having a tough time as Denver was committed to double-teaming him wherever he got the ball, and the rest of the offense was not able to capitalize on those advantages. A few lapses on defense, where Minnesota lost their assignments, led to Jokić killing them with passes on backdoor cuts. The three-time MVP scored 13 points and dished four assists in the first. Minnesota was outplayed in the frame and ended down 31-22 after the first 12 minutes.
Bones Hyland was getting Bizzy to close the first quarter and start of the second. He set fire to a Timberwolves team that needed an extra jolt in a Sunday afternoon game. He helped to tie the game early in the second, leading a 9-0 run, and finished the half with 15 points on a perfect 5/5 from the floor. Minnesota killed in the non-Jokić minutes and used that to go on another big 12-0 run later in the period. Nikola Jokić came back in to keep the game close, but the Timberwolves closed the half strong with a couple of Ayo buckets and Ant getting a runout to the rim for a layup to give the Wolves a 58-50 lead at halftime.
The offensive floodgates were wide open for both teams to start the third quarter. Donte used his hustle and grit and parlayed it into some flamethrower shooting. He hit four threes in the quarter to help the Timberwolves maintain their solid lead. Jokić kept the Nuggets afloat; he had 17 of his own in the third and kept the game from getting out of hand. After an 8-0 run late, Julius stopped the bleeding with an And-1 to help Minnesota maintain their eight-point advantage with a 90-82 score heading into the final 12 minutes.
The Timberwolves were in a prime position to grow their lead to start the fourth, with Jokić heading to the bench and them dominating those minutes in the first half. Naz Reid took that challenge head-on. He drilled a three and had a couple of nifty Big Jelly finishes around the hoop – skipping for joy after the final one. Jamal Murray punched back with a high-flying dunk to get the crowd back into it, and Denver would not go away. Even with this, the Timberwolves used their defense and turned it into offense to shut down the hopes for a comeback. Anthony Edwards led the way with 21 while Jaden added 20 of his own.
Donte’s Hustle
Donte DiVincenzo always shows up ready to roll. In a game where the Timberwolves struggled to wake up for the early afternoon tipoff in Denver, he continued to bring it. While the shot can be streaky at times, this is something that he can and does do consistently. Whenever there was a chance for him to go make a play, he did it. You combine this grittiness with the hot shooting, and it was one special performance.
DDV drilled four threes in the third quarter while mixing in his patented hustle to give the Wolves runouts and extra possessions. Those things add up over the course of the game, none bigger than him coming from Nikola Jokić’s blind spot to take the ball from him and help Jaden get a fast break layup when the game still felt like it was in the balance during the fourth quarter. He scored 17 points and added five assists and three boards along with a pair of steals.
Defense -> Offense
Early in the game, when Minnesota was struggling, part of the reason was that Denver was committed to double-teaming Anthony Edwards wherever he was on the floor. It threw Ant off his rhythm and made him have to work hard for all his opportunities early on.
The way to combat this was through getting out in transition. The Timberwolves outscored Denver in fast-break points 30-6. They utilized their strong defense to get out for easy opportunities and grease the wheels of the offense. They also outscored Denver 22-11 in points off turnovers. The age-old saying of “the best way to beat a zone is to go before it gets set up” also applies to this defensive scheme.
Up Next
The Timberwolves head back home to take on the Memphis Grizzlies, which marks the end of their three-game road trip, where Minnesota went 3-0. Tuesday’s game against Memphis will air on FanDuel Sports Network at 7 PM CT.
