After ripping the first two games away from the Denver Nuggets on their home floor, Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves return to Target Center — aiming to go up 3-0 and remain undefeated in the postseason.
After a lengthy three-day break, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets face off for Game 3, with the series shifting to the Downtown Minneapolis for the first time.
When an NBA team opens a playoff series on the road, their goal is to win one game. Doing so allows that team to steal home-court advantage, and even if they split the first two games, they return home with the series going from seven to five games.
The Timberwolves came out on top in Game 1 against the Nuggets 106-99 in a back-and-forth contest filled with many runs. Minnesota stole Game 1 from Denver on its home court. Anthony Edwards recorded a new career-high 43 points, and the Wolves received positive play up and down the roster. It seemed like the highly anticipated matchup was sure to go six or seven games until the Wolves stunned the Nuggets in Game 2, holding them to 80 points, their lowest total this season.
The Wolves didn’t steal that game; they ripped it out of Denver’s chest.
Minnesota is now the favorite to beat Denver and go on to win the Western Conference (+100), advancing to the NBA Finals, where they have the second-best odds (+300) to win the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, only behind the Boston Celtics (-115)
Chills.
Game Info
- Who: #3 Minnesota Timberwolves (6-0) vs. #2 Denver Nuggets (4-3)
- When: Friday, May 10 at 8:30 PM CT
- Where: Target Center — Minneapolis, MN
- National TV: ESPN
- Radio: KFAN FM 100.3, Wolves App
- Line: Wolves -4.5 | Total: 204.5 (courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Jerseys: Wolves (Association), Nuggets (Statement)
Injury Report
Updated as of Thursday, May 9 at 5:45 PM CT
Minnesota
Nothing to report
(Monte Morris will play after exiting Game 2 early with a finger sprain on his right hand.)
Denver
QUESTIONABLE:
- Jamal Murray (left calf strain)
- Reggie Jackson (left calf contusion)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (right abdominal contusion)
OUT:
- Vlatko Čančar (left torn ACL surgery)
What To Watch For
Feed off the Energy
It has been 16 days since the Timberwolves played in front of their home crowd. The last time was on April 23, when the Wolves beat the Phoenix Suns 105-93, taking a 2-0 advantage to the desert. The fanbase was at a level of euphoria that wasn’t experienced in over 20 years, but advancing out of the first round was still up in the air. The Wolves did their job. Now, they had to hold their own in Footprint Center, where they were outscored by 28 points in the regular season.
As my Mom and I walked out of Target Center on April 23, the back of her complimentary white T-shirt read, “Wolves In 4.” She brought a permanent marker and drew on those three words before both games. We both were hopeful that would come to fruition, but I was not expecting the Wolves to outscore the Suns by 23 points through games 3 and 4, emphatically completing the first sweep in franchise history.
My Mom and all the other fans chanting “Wolves In 4” after Game 2 were prophets.
Since then, a lot has happened, aside from the on-court success.
- Naz Reid triumphed in a very close Sixth Man of the Year race.
- Mike Conley won his second Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award.
- Chris Finch suffered a torn patellar tendon in his right knee during Game 4 in Phoenix, underwent surgery, and rejoined the team via a modified location on the bench.
- Rudy Gobert earned his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award and became a first-time father the day before.
- Karl-Anthony Towns won the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award.
Before the ball is thrown in the air for the opening jump ball on Friday, Target Center may very well implode due to deafening decibel levels as they congratulate their team on the many well-deserved honors they brought home over the last four weeks.
“I’m not worried about anything other than trying to win Game 3,” Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone told the media after Game 2. “Really, just trying to win the first quarter of Game 3 and built it from there. Take it one quarter at a time.”
All season long, the Wolves have fed off the energy from their home crowd, especially early in games. If the team gets off to a fast start with impressive defense and shot-making, chances are Target Center will be on its feet permanently less than 12 minutes into the game. On Friday, the energy will be at a never-seen-before level right away. The Wolves must feed off that and build a big lead immediately to ensure the crowd is a factor.
In the first 6:48 minutes of Game 1, the Timberwolves jumped out to an 18-4 lead. In the first 2:39 minutes of the second quarter in Game 2, they outscored the Nuggets 7-0, building on an extended 15-3 run. Starting strong has been an overarching component of Minnesota’s success in the postseason, particularly against Denver. The Nuggets punched the Wolves back in Game 1, going on an 11-0 run over the final 2:29 minutes of the first quarter, but that same rebuttal punch never came in Game 2.
Denver will be fighting for pride on Friday. Going down 3-0 would all but seal its fate with the close-out game happening on Sunday in Downtown Minneapolis. Target Center will be jumping, and if the Nuggets get lost in the sea of white early, they will likely find themselves in yet another daunting first-quarter hole.
KAT Continuing His Hot Streak
A lot of the focus has been on Anthony Edwards during this historic postseason for the Timberwolves, and rightfully so. He’s averaging 32.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists on 54.7% from the floor and 39.5% from deep in 39.5 minutes. The Wolves are outscoring their opponent by 88 points with him on the floor. He also joined Kobe Bryant as the only players 22 years or younger to score 40+ points in consecutive games in NBA playoff history.
Edwards has risen to become one of the league’s current faces. He is no longer the next one up. However, Minnesota’s success hinges on his co-star, Karl-Anthony Towns.
Since April 28 (over the last three games), Towns has averaged 25 points and 8.7 rebounds on 64.4% from the floor and 60% from three. He has the highest field goal percentage of any player in the league who has attempted more than 12 shots during that span and the second-highest three-point percentage, only behind former Wolf Malik Beasley (61.5%).
KAT has picked up at least four fouls in all six of Minnesota’s playoff games, so when he isn’t sitting on the bench due to foul trouble — especially in Game 3 against Denver — Towns has been essential during critical moments of games.
In Game 2, 11 of KAT’s 27 points came in the first quarter, which was the inverse of Game 1, where he had only three points. Towns did a phenomenal job setting the tone for the Wolves early on and carried the load nicely, with Edwards receiving a ton of defensive attention. In the first half of Game 1, Aaron Gordon was physical with Karl, who frequently backed down from attempting to go at Gordon. However, that wasn’t the case in Game 2. It felt like KAT remembered how good of an offensive player he was and played like it.
What I’ve liked the most is the uptick in KAT’s positioning from the corners.
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Here are three examples of some great decision-making from Towns out of the right corner. The first two feature an on-ball action with Edwards. With the amount of pressure that Ant endures on a game-to-game basis, especially in the playoffs, it’s crucial that he moves the ball and finds his teammates, who are typically wide-open. Ant’s passing has been incredible recently and is the most impressive part of his development. He is doing his part, and now it’s up to Edwards’ teammates to hold up their end of the bargain by spacing the floor correctly and making their open attempts.
So far in the playoffs, the Timberwolves have done just that. They rank third in field goal percentage (48.8%), third in field goal makes (41.3), fifth in three-point percentage (37.6%), and fifth in 3-point makes (12.2).
As we approach Game 3, keep an eye out for Towns continuing to operate out of the corners. This can only benefit the Wolves, as it takes the pressure off Ant and makes the team even more challenging to guard.
Keep Jamal Murray Bothered
One of the primary reasons the Timberwolves are heading back to the Twin Cities still undefeated in the postseason is their work containing Jamal Murray.
Through the first two games, Murray is averaging 12.5 points on 28.1% from the floor and 25% from deep. The Wolves have done a tremendous job taking him out of the game and keeping him off balance with a flurry of different defensive looks, impressive on-ball defense, and limiting his damage off screens.
I took a deep dive into exactly how that’s happened, which you can read here:
Murray is not entirely healthy due to a calf injury he suffered against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, but that doesn’t diminish the cold-blooded defense the Timberwolves have deployed against him. Emotions have been boiling over for the former Kentucky Wildcat star, so he will likely look to settle into a groove early in Game 3.
I expect that will come via an uptick of pick-and-rolls involving Nikola Jokić or Gordon, with Murray trying his best to speed past his defender despite a banged-up calf.
Regardless, Denver will need much more than a good game from the Blue Arrow to come out on top in Game 3. Target Center will be deafening, and the Wolves will be more than ready to dig into some home cooking. If the Nuggets experience multi-minute mental lapses as they did in games 1 and 2, there is a very good chance the reigning champions will find themselves in an all but unmanageable 3-0 hole on Sunday.
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