It kind of felt like they were on the ropes, didn’t it?
The Denver Nuggets opened their postseason by beating the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was at least effective.
Next up, was the team that gave them more trouble than anyone on their way to the title.
The Nuggets beat the Wolves in five games last year, but every single game felt like a dogfight. Anthony Edwards is an absolute monster, and the length of big men Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony-Towns provide some serious matchup problems.
Minnesota opened the series by punching the champs in the mouth in Game 1 and beating Denver at home 106-99.
Proving it wasn’t a fluke, the Timberwolves whooped the Nuggets on the road again in Game 2, routing them 106-80.
Not only were the Wolves going to beat the Nuggets, they were going to sweep them.
Not so fast.
You have to beat the champs.
And the Nuggets proved exactly that on Friday night in Game 3.
Denver went into hostile territory and smoked the Timberwolves 117-90. It didn’t actually even feel that close.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray each scored 24 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 21 points and the Nuggets ran away with an easy win.
Okay, so that was just an off game. Minnesota would bring their “A” game for Game 4.
And they did…at times.
Minnesota shot 48% from the field, while out rebounding Denver 42-31.
They also had lapses.
Their end of the first half sloppiness allowed the Nuggets to close the second quarter with an 8-0 run for the ages, as Jamal Murray splashed a three pointer at the buzzer, from beyond halfcourt.
Those eight points proved to be pretty big, as the Nuggets won Game 4 by an ironic score of 115-107 to even the series, and take back home court advantage.
Now we have a three game series.
So what has changed? How have the Nuggets turned things around?
For starters, their stars have stepped up. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray combined for 73 points in Games 1 and 2, but they shot just 35% from the field.
Compare that to Games 3 and 4 where Jokic and Murray scored 102 points at a much more efficient rate of 53%.
The bench has also stepped up their game. They managed to score just 38 points in Games 1 and 2, but have now responded with 50 points as a unit in Games 3 and 4.
This series is far from over, but the Nuggets are proving that they have the heart of a champion.
Game 5 is in Denver tonight, and teams that win Game 5 of a 2-2 best-of-seven series go on to win the series 82.8% of the time (164-34).
These Nuggets have already proven that they will not go quietly.
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