Starless Timberwolves eliminate Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets

The Minnesota Timberwolves could not count on their three main outside resources in the game, but still clearly outperformed a Denver Nuggets team unable to take advantage of Nikola Jokic’s overwhelming talent for the third consecutive year since their triumph in 2023. With an inspired Jaden McDaniels, who scored 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, they finished off the rival’s pride with a 110-98 victory that put the series at 4-2 in the first round and now sets them up against the San Antonio Spurs with Victor Wembanyama in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA. For the next challenge, they will not be able to count initially on their star Anthony Edwards, who suffered a hyperextension in his right knee in the fourth game and will be out for at least another week.

Read more What is behind the change in Mercadona’s fishmongers?

The sixth meeting between the Wolves and Nuggets was tense again and included another brawl with Jokic as the protagonist. The Serbian star, one of the three MVP candidates of the season, got upset after receiving a firm and physical screen from Jaylen Clark. The center, who ended the game booed by the stands on every possession, pushed his defender and sent him to the floor, starting a scuffle between both groups as had already happened in the fourth game of the series. There were no ejections, but both ended with a technical foul as did Naz Reid, who came to Clark’s rescue with another push to the opponent. Minnesota was leading 86-80 with 10 minutes on the clock, but Denver could not take the lead at any point in the second half.

Neither the $50,000 fine Jokic received for his role in the altercation in the fourth game nor the clear superiority of the rival reduced the tension between both groups at any time. It was their third clash in four seasons, the second time Denver falls to Minnesota in matchups with a marked physical character. Although the three-time MVP amassed 28 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists, the rest of the group did not support him. Jamal Murray, his usual dance partner, stayed at 12 points, and only Cameron Johnson stepped up with 27 points replacing the injured Aaron Gordon.

“We are totally disappointed, it’s hard to look back because it hurts a lot,” said Denver coach David Adelman after the game. Despite the group’s shortcomings, Jokic reassured Colorado fans with an unconditional declaration of love. “We are very far [from where we would like], and if we were in Serbia, we would all have been fired already. But I still want to be a Nugget forever,” he said visibly downcast. Comforting words if they come from a three-time MVP of the competition.

Rudy Gobert’s defensive work in the series was so good that even the Serbian star had to acknowledge it. With 10 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists, the French center grew in the paint alongside Reid (15) and Julius Randle (18) for a Wolves team that outperformed the rival 64-40 inside the paint and grabbed 17 more rebounds. Their greatest merit was to constantly bother the rival star. Using size, Minnesota compensated for the notable absences of Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo, their starting outside duo, but also for Ayo Dosunmu, who had scored 43 points in the absence of both to lift the group in a key fourth game for the round’s outcome.

Read more Quevedo: “I love being rich, but at the same time it is a curse”

Terrence Shannon Jr., a second-year point guard with very little participation so far, performed at a high level with 24 points and six rebounds, but the finishing touch was put by McDaniels with a mid-range shot one minute from the end, which put seven points of advantage on the home scoreboard, and a steal on a Jokic who had rushed in the next possession. The rest was an exchange at the free-throw line to prolong the agony of the 2023 champions, also offended by the night’s main protagonist, who at the start of the series had called them “bad defenders”.

The victory and the statistical sheet made it clear that in Minnesota they know how to compete and how to defend. “We believed that victory was always possible, that’s the first thing. And then we were ourselves, especially on defense. The team spirit prevails, even though we miss very good teammates, and with that, everything is possible,” reflected Gobert. “Our guys took this series personally, they chose us for the matchup, and the team was up to the task to win,” concluded Chris Finch, coach of the Timberwolves.

The Knicks advance, the Celtics suffer

The rest of the day was marked by the record thrashing of the New York Knicks over the Atlanta Hawks by 89-140, which allows them to be the first to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals after beating the Georgian team 4-2 in the series. Their rival will come from the seventh game between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday after the home team won the sixth game 106-93 led by Tyrese Maxey’s 30 points.

New York’s beating allowed them to lead by 47 points at halftime, an unprecedented figure in NBA playoffs, and the 51-point margin at the end of the game represents the largest victory margin for the Big Apple franchise. OG Anunoby, with 29 points, and Mikal Bridges, with 24, were the most outstanding in the visiting group, which had suffered two unexpected setbacks by just one point thanks to CJ McCollum’s heroics in the third and fourth games of the series.

Tonight, the Orlando Magic, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Los Angeles Lakers have match points.

Read more Álvaro Pombo: “Malice overwhelms me. These controversies, those of Uclés and others, seem to be competing for gossip of the year”

NBA playoff results and matchups.