The Denver Nuggets fell just short of pulling off the sweep.
With the opportunity to win the first-round series in four quick games, the #1 seed Nuggets faltered in overtime and lost to the #8 seed Minnesota Timberwolves, 118-114. Denver has never swept a team in the postseason and will now head to Denver for Game 5 up 3-1 in the series.
"We're a little disappointed because we had a great opportunity to do something we haven't done with this group. So we're not doubting ourselves," said Jamal Murray. "We came in here from Game 2 really wanting to close it out. So that's a missed opportunity. But, you know, we're still in the lead. Still got a commanding lead and we're gonna go back home to our place and do what we need to do."
Nikola Jokić had a spectacular outing with 43 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. He also hit 5 three-pointers and was exceptional down the stretch. Jokić’s 43 points tied his season high. They also tied his playoff career-high and third place on the Nuggets’ all-time playoff scoring leaderboard.
"It was going in, so I was kind of, 'why not?'" said Jokić about his five threes. He added about his three-point shot, "I'm confident, I think. Sometimes I make, sometimes I miss."
Anthony Edwards led the show for Minnesota with 34 points on 5 made threes. This was the third-straight game that Edwards dropped at least 34 points, and he’s wreaked havoc on Denver’s pick-and-roll defense.
Minnesota outshot Denver from three-point range for the first time in four games. They also outrebounded Denver and scored more points in the paint for the first time in the series. Denver also had just 20 assists on the night, which was odd given that the Nuggets finished one of the top-2 average teams in assists during the regular season.
"We didn't play any defense. Yeah, over time, we closed regulation 12-0 to force overtime, which is great to see, but 18 points in five minutes," said Michael Malone after the game. "First game of the series that we did not win the paint battle, we did not win the rebounding battle. And so give them credit. I didn't think we're gonna go undefeated the whole postseason, so be curious to see how we react going home for Game 5."
Denver did not get off to a good start. Minnesota lept out to a 21-13 lead while the Nuggets could not buy a bucket from deep and finished the quarter just 1-for-7 from three. However, Denver’s reserves checked in and made an immediate impact. Christian Braun frustrated Kyle Anderson on multiple post-up bouts. Jeff Green had a highlight block and dished a gorgeous pass to Bruce Brown on a give-and-go. And Brown ripped away two steals, one by digging down on a post-up and another on Anthony Edwards for a poster dunk on the other end. That helped Denver claw back to be down by just one, 23-22, at the end of the quarter.
Murray got going at the end of the first quarter with five points and carried that rhythm over to the second quarter with three more. Karl-Anthony Towns started cooking too, however, in the second quarter with 9 points on a perfect shooting line. Denver got 9 from Aaron Gordon, including a big step-back three with the shot clock expiring. Denver entered the half ahead 52-48.
It appeared as if Denver was going to pull away when Jokić hit two three-pointers over Rudy Gobert to give Denver a 9-point lead. But then Denver coughed up the rock twice, and Minnesota made it a 4-point game. Another turnover at the 4:44 mark tied things at 66 apiece. The Timberwolves used that momentum to go on a 25-9 run behind some special shot-making from Edwards. His 27 points through three quarters gave Minnesota an 80-74 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Minnesota turned it into a double-digit deficit for Denver when Mike Conely hit a layup over a tough contest, Austin Rivers made a hanging layup, and Towns knocked down a close-range two-pointer along with the foul. Denver cut the double-digit deficit in half when Brown splashed a three and Jokić slammed down a dunk off a give-and-go with Gordon.
It appeared as if this one was over when Minnesota built up a 12-point lead with 2:52 remaining, but Denver hit 3-straight three-pointers—one from Jokić and two from Porter Jr. A Jokić fadeaway bucket in the middle of the painted area made it a 1-point game with 48 seconds remaining. Towns fouled Jokić on a post-up a possession later, and the Joker went 1-of-2 from the line, tying the ballgame 96-96 with 12 seconds remaining. The Nuggets stripped Edwards on an isolation play with time expiring, and to overtime, the game went.
Jokić continued to shoulder the load and reached 41 points at the 4:05 mark in OT. Minnesota responded, however, when Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit two corner threes to give Minnesota a 107-102 lead with two minutes remaining. It appeared as if Denver was going to tie things up once more when Murray made a layup off a pair of screens and then another two-pointer off a gorgeous touchdown pass from Jokić. However, Edwards put the game away with a ridiculous step-back three over Gordon to give the Wolves a 112-108 lead.
Denver hosts Minnesota for Game 5 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. MT.