DENVER – The Denver Nuggets admitted that they got “beat up” on May 6, as the defence of their National Basketball Association (NBA) title looks to be in danger after losing at home yet again to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference semi-final, play-off series with a 106-80 victory.
The third-seeded Minnesota harassed Denver relentlessly and it proved to be effective as the series now heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on May 10.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said: “We just got beat up in our building and we got embarrassed in front of our fans.
“The good thing is we’re not playing until Friday, so we have a chance to get away and think about what we want to do moving forward. I’m not worried about anything other than trying to win Game 3.”
Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride.
The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in contrast to Denver who had just six steals and six blocks.
Remarkably, Minnesota’s dominance was achieved without Rudy Gobert, the Frenchman who is one of the defensive pillars of their line-up.
Gobert skipped the game in order to be with his partner after the birth of the couple’s son earlier in the day.
“When you haven’t got a Defensive Player of the Year, you got to step your game up,” Towns said.
“We all understood the challenge coming in against the defending champions, a really good team, with some of the best players the game’s ever seen.
“We just wanted to come here and find a way to win the game.”
The normally unflappable Nuggets may also be without star point guard Jamal Murray for Game 3.
Murray was caught on camera hurling a heat pack onto the court in the second quarter, raising the possibility of a suspension when the incident is reviewed by NBA disciplinary chiefs.
That incident was emblematic of the Nuggets’ woes in a game that saw Minnesota in control after they surged into a 28-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A disastrous second quarter for Denver saw them outscored 33-15 by Minneapolis, leaving the Timberwolves leading 61-35 at half-time.
Minnesota’s iron-clad defence never looked like surrendering that advantage in the second half and the visitors raced to a 32-point lead early in the third quarter to leave Denver’s Ball Arena in stunned silence.
In the other play-off game, Jalen Brunson had a scintillating fourth quarter as the New York Knicks edged out the Indiana Pacers 121-117 in their Eastern Conference opener.
Knicks talisman Brunson finished with 43 points, six rebounds and six assists to give New York the early advantage.
But it was his ice-cool performance down the stretch that swept the Knicks to victory in front of 19,812 fans at an electric Madison Square Garden.
The guard rattled in 21 points in the fourth quarter to complete his fourth straight play-off game with 40 points or more.
Donte DiVincenzo backed Brunson with 25 points while Josh Hart weighed in with a monster performance that included 24 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and a block.
“That’s what you love about Jalen,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said after the win. “I could go on and on about him, but the thing I love about him is he’s all about the team.
“All he cares about is winning. And he cares about his teammates, and in the end, whatever it is we need, he’ll provide.
“But I think the same could be said for all the guys.”
Brunson was ultimately the difference in a pulsating contest that saw neither side gain more than a single-digit advantage across four quarters.
Game 2 takes place in New York on May 8. AFP
