It took a nail-biter, but the Denver Nuggets have officially advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Denver narrowly got it done, 112-109, in Game 5 on Tuesday thanks to some late-game heroics from Nikola Jokić and excellent shot-making from Jamal Murray throughout the entire contest. The #1 seed Nuggets convincingly took down the #8 seed Timberwolves in the first round, winning 4-1. This was just the fourth time in franchise history that the Nuggets have dispelled an opponent in less than 5 games in a seven-game series since the NBA switched over to that format in 1984.
“Yeah, there was a lot of growing moments in this series. So, I think we're definitely going to take that with us to these next series and really take those things with us throughout our NBA careers. You know what I mean?” said Michael Porter Jr. “There's a lot of learning moments in the playoffs, so I think it's huge for us to be able to go through that.”
Now, they’ll face off against the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the playoffs for a matchup that’ll assuredly be one for the ages, stocked with superstar-level talent. Game 1 of the second round is on Saturday at Ball Arena.
“I mean, probably, they are the favorites to win the championship,” said Jokić about the Suns. “They have an amazing, amazing group of guys, are well coached. They have Chris Paul, who's probably the best floor manager or general in the game. (Devin) Booker, (Kevin Durant), I mean, superstars. Arguably, the best players in the NBA right now.”
As mentioned, Murray led the dance for Denver with 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting and five made three-pointers. This was the second game in the series that Murray finished with at least 35 points, and it was the 7th time in Murray’s career he’s pulled off this feat in the postseason. Only Jokić has recorded more 35+ point games in the postseason for the Nuggets.
“He's a competitor. I'm not worried about him,” said Jokić about Murray. “He lives for the moment, and he was our best player this series.”
Speaking of Jokić, he did not have his best outing efficiency-wise but did finish with his 8th playoff triple-double with 28 points, 17 rebounds, and 11 assists to go with 2 steals and 2 blocks. As mentioned, he was excellent down the stretch and put up 8 of Denver’s final 10 points.
“He's unrelenting. That guy is just, he's a worker. Now that guy is, every single day, you never have to worry about Nikola Jokić showing up doing his job. His consistency, I think is just, I marvel at that sometimes. He's able to play at this level as consistently as he does. That's what separates good players from great players.”
Minnesota was led by Anthony Edwards, who finished with 29 points. This was Edwards’ fourth-straight game in the series of finishing with at least that many points. That said, Denver did an excellent job making life tough for Edwards in the second half with a series of blitzes in the pick-and-roll.
After Game 5, Michael Malone told the media that he gave the 'Defensive Player of the Game' award to Jokić for his impressive coverage against Edwards in the pick-and-roll.
“We tried to blitz him and get the ball out of his hands,” said Malone. “And I felt Nikola really committed to that, was up at the level on pick-and-rolls, moving his feet, and giving it all he had.”
Denver won the rebounding battle, 47-40, and scored more points off its bench for the fourth time in five games. The only time the Nuggets lost in those two categories? Game 4 in Minnesota... Denver's sole loss in the series, 118-114, in overtime.
The Nuggets did not have a particularly great night shooting the ball. They shot just 40 percent from the field, just the seventh time in franchise history the Nuggets have won a playoff game shooting 40 percent or worse. Where they made up for poor shooting was from the free-throw line, going 32-of-36 from the charity stripe. It was the most made free-throws Denver has had in a playoff game since 2010.
FINAL LINES
• Jamal Murray finished the series averaging 27.4 points, the ninth-most points per game any player averaged in the first round. He also shot a ridiculous 47.1 percent from the field, 44.2 percent from three, and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line. Murray averaged 5.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists, as well.
• Nikola Jokić nearly averaged a triple-double with 26.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9 assists. He also made 50 percent of his three-pointers against Minnesota.
• Michael Porter Jr. also shot the three-ball well at 42.4 percent, and MPJ averaged 16.4 points on 49.2 percent shooting, as well. The Nuggets were +7.8 in his minutes against the Wolves, the best on the team.
• Denver’s 117.5 offensive rating was the 3rd best of the 16 teams in the postseason through Round 1. They outscored Minnesota by 7.9 points per 100 possessions, the second-best net rating of the first round.
GAME SUMMARY
The Nuggets had no answers for Edwards to begin the contest. Edwards racked up 8 early points on 4-of-6 shooting to give his squad an early 13-5 lead, forcing Malone to call a timeout. The deficit grew as large as 15 points until Christian Braun hit a three-pointer and Bruce Brown created offense in transition. Denver finished behind 29-22 after one period of play.
The Nuggets went on a 21-7 run in the second quarter that was capped off by a Murray three-pointer to make it a one-point game. Murray caught on absolute fire in the second quarter with 12 points. He made a pull-up three-pointer in transition with 48 seconds remaining to give the Nuggets their first lead since the 10:24 mark of the first quarter. Denver led 48-47 heading into halftime.
Murray could not be stopped, drawing contact on a made layup and hitting a three-pointer off a handoff from Jokić wedged deep in the corner. Minnesota would not go away, as Karl Anthony-Towns began to fill it up with 9 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting line in the third. Both teams finished the quarter tied at 77.
Murray started the fourth with a bang off a wing three-pointer. He hit another three shortly after that was even tougher—in the corner off a series of jab steps. Still, Minnesota hung close until Denver finally created some separation when Porter Jr. hit a corner three and Brown nailed a floater in transition over Edwards to build a 91-86 lead. The Wolves would not go away as Towns took Aaron Gordon off the dribble twice for layups to bring Denver’s advantage down to one.
Then Porter Jr. hit a corner three off an offensive rebound from Gordon. Minnesota missed on the other end of the floor, and Jokić whipped a crafty dump-off pass to Gordon to build a six-point lead with 3 minutes remaining. Minnesota, once more, battled back and tied the game on an Edwards layup with 1:46 remaining. Jokić came through in the clutch and went on a solo 7-0 run to give Denver a five-point lead. That run was quieted when Mike Conley drilled a three-pointer at the top of the arc with 20 seconds remaining. Minnesota fouled Brown with 13 seconds remaining, who made both free throws.
Edwards scored a layup for his 29th point of the game at the 3-second mark to put the Wolves down, 111-109. Minnesota was forced to foul, and Jokić went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. Denver got a brief scare when Edwards got an open look from three at the buzzer, but the 21-year-old missed, and the series was officially over.