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‘This is one of the best defensive teams I’ve ever seen’: Timberwolves suffocate Denver to take 2-0 series lead

jace frederick, pioneer press
·5 min read

DENVER — Jamal Murray likely earned himself a hefty fine in the second quarter of Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Monday in Denver.

Sitting on the bench, Murray threw a heat pack onto the floor that bounced off Wolves forward Kyle Anderson and fell to the court in the middle of the action.

Officials didn’t see the toss, so no technical foul was incurred. But what’s not entirely clear is whether Murray threw the object out of frustration with the officials, or if the Nuggets point guard was attempting to throw in the proverbial towel.

What Minnesota did to Denver on Monday would make a lot of people want to quit.

The Wolves won 106-80 to take a 2-0 series lead. They led by as many as 32 points, a new franchise record for a playoff lead. The end-of-bench subs for both teams were on the floor with three minutes to play and, frankly, they could’ve entered the action far earlier.

“Wolves in 4” chants broke out in the waning seconds of the contest. Minnesota will indeed have a chance to close out the series at Target Center. Game 3 is set for Friday in Minneapolis.

The Timberwolves’ defense — playing without the presumptive Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert, who missed the game following the birth of his child — gave Denver’s usually astute offense absolutely nothing Monday.

“I think we’re doing a great job of just trying to pick ’em up early by putting pressure on everybody — pressure the ball, pressure the passer. KAT do a great job of just pressuring the entry pass, don’t let it be easy. Naz fronting, Kyle fronting, trying to get our hands on everything,” Anthony Edwards said. “Touching, pushing, being physical, I think that leads to the defensive plays that we make.

“And like I said, once again, Jaden (McDaniel) was everywhere tonight. Steals, deflections, blocks, rebounds — he was everywhere tonight, man. So he plays a major role in all of those defensive efforts that we had out there.”

Denver scored just 20 points in the first quarter and 15 in the second.

The Nuggets in the first half shot 33 percent from the field. They had just three more made field goals (14) than turnovers (11) over the first 24 minutes. Their 26-point halftime deficit was the largest playoff home deficit a defending champ had faced since 1992.

In the third quarter, it was clear the Nuggets had mailed it in. Their defensive performance and effort to get to loose balls screamed it. Nikola Jokic had just 16 points on 13 shots. Murray, who is battling a calf injury, was 3 for 18. Michael Porter Jr. went 1 for 7 from distance.

Name the player, Minnesota shut him down. The champs were firmly planted on the mat.

MORE: The view from Denver: Oh Baby! Even without Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves leave Nuggets crying in frustration.

The Timberwolves were dominant defensively all season, but onlookers on social media went out of their way to tout what was the best defensive performance many could recall watching. Wolves players and coaches didn’t disagree. Minnesota has set a high standard on that end of the floor, and Monday’s performance likely exceeded it.

“We’ve had some really, really good defensive efforts this year, but that has to be right up there with the best of them,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “On the ball, off the ball, physicality, execution of the game plan. Doing it over and over and over and over again requires a physical and a mental toughness. We had that. Really locked in on defense.”

Asked how the Nuggets would respond moving forward, both Jokic and Reggie Jackson replied with “we will see.” At least for one night, the Wolves had broken Denver.

That statement, frankly, is sounding like a broken record in these playoffs. Because the same thing could be said of Phoenix on multiple nights in Round 1.

Maybe the attention will start to shift away from the teams doing the folding and onto the team firmly collapsing the chair via the vise grip known as the NBA’s best defense. It’s again taking center stage, with a dominance that’s undeniable.

The second half was Minnesota’s playground, as Karl-Anthony Towns — playing center again for the first time in a long time — was aggressively attacking mismatches at every opportunity. He finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds.

And then the Edwards Show played out. The guard finished with 27 points, including a number of difficult shots that seemed to always serve as rebuttals whenever Denver tried to make even the smallest push.

After a deep, highly contested triple went down, Edwards just turned and shrugged at the crowd, which will only further invoke the comparisons between the Wolves’ guard and Michael Jordan. At one point in the fourth quarter, loud MVP chants broke out for Edwards — the second-straight series in which that’s occurred in a road arena.

No, Denver isn’t Edwards’ house, but he rented it out for the weekend.

But no matter the building, this is quickly becoming his — and Minnesota’s — NBA. And it’s largely because of their efforts on the defensive end of the floor. TNT analyst Charles Barkley declared the following at halftime of Monday’s bout: “This is one of the best defensive teams I’ve ever seen.”

That team is now two wins away from the Western Conference Finals.

BRIEFLY

Wolves guard Monte Morris left the game with a sprained finger and did not return, while the Nuggets’ Jackson was helped to the locker room in the second half and also didn’t return.

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