The Minnesota Timberwolves are off to begin of their quest to knock off the defending champion Denver Nuggets. The Wolves took Sport 1 in Denver on Saturday night time, utilizing a robust second half to safe the victory. Anthony Edwards scored a game-high 43 factors within the win and knocked down 17 of his 29 field-goal makes an attempt.
“I am pleased with the way in which he is accepted the sort of progress he wanted to must be the place he’s,” Wolves guard Mike Conley instructed reporters about Edwards “It is not straightforward for a 22-, 23-year-old to make that adjustment so shortly.”
Edwards, who’s 22, is averaging 33.4 factors, 7.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per recreation in these playoffs, and picked up Saturday the place he left off in a four-game sweep of the Suns within the first spherical.
The Wolves remained undefeated within the playoffs and are actually 5-0. The Nuggets, in the meantime, by no means trailed in a sequence throughout their run to the 2023 title a yr in the past. We’ll see how they reply in Sport 2 on Monday.
Nuggets vs. Timberwolves schedule, scores
All instances Jap | * If needed
- Sport 1: Timberwolves 106, Nuggets 99 — Minnesota leads sequence 1-0
- Sport 2: Monday, Could 6 — Timberwolves at Nuggets, 10 p.m., TNT
- Sport 3: Friday, Could 10 — Nuggets at Timberwolves, 9:30 p.m., ESPN
- Sport 4: Sunday, Could 12 — Nuggets at Timberwolves, 8 p.m., TNT
- Sport 5*: Tuesday, Could 14 — Timberwolves at Nuggets
- Sport 6*: Thursday, Could 16 — Nuggets at Timberwolves
- Sport 7*: Sunday, Could 19 — Timberwolves at Nuggets
Nuggets vs. Timberwolves, Sport 2
The place to observe
Time: 10 p.m. ET | Date: Monday, Could 6
Location: Ball Enviornment — Denver
TV channel: TNT | Streaming: Watch TNT, Max
Storylines
Michael Porter Jr. is turning into an important X-factor for the Nuggets. Porter has hit half of his 48 3-point makes an attempt up to now within the playoffs, turning into a key scoring possibility for Denver past Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Murray, who injured his calf within the sequence win towards the Lakers, didn’t seem like 100% in Saturday’s Sport 1. Porter put up 20 factors within the loss, and he’ll be known as upon as this sequence towards one of many league’s hardest protection continues.
“On this group I haven’t got the ball in my fingers many of the recreation, so I simply must be aggressive and attempt to discover the ball after I can and be able to make performs,” Porter mentioned. “And simply be aggressive as a result of it is a good defensive group. It may take a collective scoring effort to beat these guys.”
Prediction
Opening sequence odds: Nuggets -185, Wolves +155
Collection odds after Sport 1: Wolves -120, Nuggets +100
The Nuggets might use the Sport 1 loss as gas to play a full 48 minutes towards the Timberwolves, particularly whereas enjoying in Denver. Head coach Michael Malone mentioned the second half protection was the largest problem, and naturally they allowed Anthony Edwards to attain a playoff career-high 43 factors. Nevertheless, they competed properly within the first half of Saturday’s recreation regardless of Jamal Murray not being utterly wholesome. If Rudy Gobert — who’s presently listed as questionable for “private causes” — misses Monday’s recreation, his absence can even disrupt the Timberwolves protection. Decide: Nuggets (-285) – Isabel Gonzalez
