Timberwolves 106 - 99 Nuggets summary, stats, scores and highlights | NBA Game 1

The Nuggets came into Game 1 with a home record of 13-1 over the last two postseasons but the Timberwolves showed their weren't no fear going into Denver and taking down the defending champions. 

Minnesota has a chance to double their lead, while the Nuggets will try to tie the series up on Monday night at 10 ET. 

I hate to keep doing this. But this is right out of the MJ playbook. Back your defender down, turn around and drop the fade away in his face. Anthony Edwards showed he ready for the big stage. Will the Nuggets be ready for him in Game 2? 

Reid scored 10 straight points for the Wolves in the 4th quarter to give them a slight cushion and Minnesota took that cushion to the finish line. 

Minnesota is big. They are quick. They like to run up and down, and if Game 1 showed us anything, they are tough to beat, especially when Naz Reid is playing like the Sixth Man of the Year. 

This is just silly. Edwards off the dribble on the step back over Gordon. He showed out in his first appearance in the Conference Semis going 17/29 from the field. The one thing about ANT is, he might take 30 shots in a game, but it never seems like his teammates are getting excluded. He gets everyone involved, and the offense never seems stagnant. 

Conley is the vet who is going to bring the experience to a young team that is full of raw talent. He had a scoreless first half but stepped up the aggression and had 14 in the final two quarters. 

The first three quarters were ANT Man's time, but the fourth quarter was reserved for Naz Reid. After scoring just 2 points in the first three quarters he dropped 16 in the fourth. 

He's 22. It's much too early to say these sorts of things. But the things he does, and how he looks doing those things have to remind you of someone. Not just anyone. The greatest to ever do it. It's not everyday we compare someone to Michael Jordan, but this kid deserves it more and more with each passing game. 

KAT set the tone coming out of the halftime break, scoring 11 points showing his range from downtown, and taking it to the rack off the dribble. 

One of the best things about Anthony Edwards is his willingness to go up against anyone and everyone on defense. He was defending Murray, Porter, and KCP all the while pouring 43 points on the other end. 

Karl-Anthony Towns is going to be a key for the T'Wolves in this series. He is a mismatch nightmare who can guard Jokic and stretch the defense from the perimeter. He had 20 on the night even though he battled foul trouble at the end of the night. 

The Nuggets punched back at the end of the first quarter, going on a 21-5 run to take a lead into the second quarter, but for the next three quarters the game would go back and forth. 

One thing about the T'Wolves more than any other team in the West is length. Their bigs had a huge game. Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid made things very tough for Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Murray didn't score a point in the first half, as the big men did it on both ends. 

Edwards had 16 points in the first quarter and the T'Wolves built a double digit lead as the Nuggets took a little while to get the engine running. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves went into the house of the defending champions and shocked the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 on Saturday night. Anthony Edwards set a playoff career high with 43 points in the 106-99 victory. 

Edwards got off to an explosive start in the opening minutes as this young team showed they are not intimidated by the reigning champs. Minnesota jumped out to a 9-0 start thanks to their 22 year old who looked like a seasoned veteran in Game 1. 

IT'S ALL OVER!

The Timberwolves stun the defending champions and take Game 1!

Edwards streaks right to the rack and lays it up and in and that's going to do it!

Porter nails a quick three out of the timeout!

Timeout Nuggets with 38.1 left. 

Edwards to the line after the foul on Gordon and he hits both FTs. He's got 41 on the night!

Jokic from the top of the key and he drills it! Just what the Nuggets needed. 

Jokic fighting his way into the lane and he gets the hook shot to go. 

Edwards backing down KCP and he hits the turn around fade away that we are going to see over and over again. MJ like from Edwards, and in the biggest moment of the game. 

Timeout Nuggets with 1:36 left in the game. 

Gobert with a one handed push shot from the elbow and he banks it off the glass. 

Edwards to the line after the foul on Murray and he hits both FTs. Under 3:00 to go in the 4th. 

Gobert follows up his own miss and tips it in out of the timeout. 

Jokic backing down Gobert, and then goes up and under getting the bucket and the foul with the left! FT is good. 

Timeout Wolves with 3:31 to go in the 4th. 

Reid hits another three ball out of the timeout and he's got 16 points, 14 in the quarter!

Timeout Wolves with 4:32 to go in the fourth!

Murray broke away from his defender off the screen and floats it up and in from the paint. 

Reid drives down the baseline, lays it up off the glass and gets the foul on Gordon! FT is no good. 

Jokic with the tough shot in traffic down low and he gets the lay up to fall. 

Reid skying through the lane and tip slams the miss from Edwards!

Reid's prayers are answers with a three ball of the bank to beat the buzzer!

Braun sticks a three off the kick out from Murray, and we are all tied up!

Timeout Nuggets with 6:56 to go in the 4th quarter. 

Edwards just put Gordon in a blender and dropped the mid range over him. 

Edwards slithers through the lane and he puts the lay up in off the glass. 

Murray with the step back over Murray and he sinks the three and draws the foul! FT is good after KAT's fifth foul!

Reid finds Conley in the corner and he beats the buzzer with a triple try!

Porter finds Gordon down low and he skies over two defenders for the slam and the foul! FT is no good. 

Reid off the dribble and he stretches for the finger roll down the lane. 

Murray down low and he gets it to fall after the entry pass from Gordon. 

Reid turns on the baseline and lays it up off the glass with the left hand. 

Alexander-Walker sends Murray to the line and he hits both FTs. He's got just 8 points tonight. 

WE ARE AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER! 

The T'Wolves lead after taking the lead after the half. Who is going to take Game 1? We have 12 minutes to find out. 

Jokic cork screwing to the iron and gets the lay up to go in traffic. 

Edwards spins on the baseline and he finishes off the glass. He got T'd up after staring down Jackson, but that was a soft T. Jokic hits the tech FT. 

Porter to the line after the fourth foul on Anderson and he hits one of two FTs. 

Alexander deep in the corner and he hits it after the feed from Edwards. 

Turn around fader from the FT line from Edwards and he's starting to feel it again. 

Edwards off the curl and he hits the shot from the FT line for his first bucket of the half. 

Jokic kicks it out to Holiday out of the timeout and he drills the three from the wing. 

Conley weaving down the lane and he lays it up off the glass. He's in double digits after a slow first half. 

Timeout Nuggets with 4:21 to go in the 3rd quarter. 

Murray gets to the Ft line and hits the mid range jumper. 

Conley running the break and he hits Reid trailing the play and he soars for the one handed slam!

Conley on the step back from the wing and he drills a second straight three ball. 

Jokic to the line after the foul on Gobert, his third, and Jokic hits both FTs. 

Murray takes it into traffic and hits a no look reverse lay up from over his head! Incredible shot from Murray who didn't have a point in the first half. 

Timeout Nuggets with 6:19 to go in the third quarter. 

Conley answers back with a three ball from the top of the key!

KCP drllls a three ball from the corner off the kick out from Murray. 

KAT's off the a great start in the second half. He eurosteps around Jokic and hits the off balanced shot from outside the lane. 

Gordon to the line after the foul on Gobert and he hits one of two FTs. 

Edwards with a big stuff on one end and KAT throws it down on the break and gets the foul! FT is no good. 

Conley gets the bucket at the iron and the foul! FT is good after the foul on KCP. 

Jokci gets the entry pass from Gordon and he lays it up over Gober. 

KAT attacking the rack and lays it up and in through traffic. 

Murray on the board after a scoreless first half, and his three ball finally goes down. 

KAT driving down the lane and the floater falls. 

Porter sticks the three ball from the top of the key, and that's another big shot from MPJ. 

Jokic drew the defense and lobbed it over the top for Gordon who came soaring in for the slam. 

KAT jacks a triple to start the second half and he hits it from the wing. 

WE ARE BACK IN DENVER FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION!

The battle between Gobert and Jokic is going to be epic. It's a two time Defensive Player of the Year taking on a two time MVP. 

Jokic had 15 in the first half, picking up the slack for for Jamal Murray who is currently scoreless through two quarters. 

Edwards had 25 in the first quarter, and he looks like he's not slowing down. The only problem is he's not getting much help. KAT has 9 points, but no one else has more than 2. 

Denver would go on an 11-0 run, and a 21-5 run to end the first quarter erasing a double digit deficit and taking the lead into the second quarter. Porter had 9 in the first quarter and has 13 on the half. 

Nothing was falling in the beginning of the game for Denver, but when in doubt Porter is always willing to step up and break the seal. 

Edwards had 13 of the first 16 T'Wolves points to get the road team off to a red hot start in the Rocky Mountains. They would stretch the lead to 13, but Denver wouldn't wait to long to start clawing back. 

The TWolves knew they were going to have to get off to a good start in Denver, and that's exactly what they did thanks to Anthony Edwards. They went up 9-0 out of the gate with the ANT Man at the heart of everything. 

WE ARE HEADING TO HALFTIME WITH THE NUGGETS LEADING BY 4!

Murray slips it to Jokic in the lane off the pick and roll and Jokic gets the runner to fall. 

Jokic over the top for Gordon for the alley oop caress at the rim. 

Gobert kicks it out to KAT on the wing and he hits the three ball!

Jokic with a herky jerky move down the lane and gets the fader to go over Gobert. 

Edwards picks off KCP and takes it for the slam after the steal!

Edwards drills the three ball from the top of the key out of the timeout. 

Jokic slings it to the corner and finds KCP for three ball!

Timeout T'Wolves with 2:27 to go in the 2nd quarter. 

Edwards pull up from the elbow and he knocks it down. He's got 20 on the night. 

Jokic over the top to Braun for the baseline slam after Edwards thought he got fouled on the other end of the floor. 

Edwards on the board for the first time in the second quarter with a pull up from the FT line. 

Jokic backs down Gobert and he gets the short fader to fall in the lane. 

Timeout with 6:37 to go in the half. 

KAT to the line after the foul on Watson and he hits one of two FTs. 

Porter to the line on Anderson and he hits one of two FTs. 

Gordon picked off the pass intender for KAT and led the break before slipping it to Braun for the transition dunk. 

Porter off the handoff from Gordon and he drills the three fro the top of the key. 

Anderson goes right at Porter and slams it down on his head off the dribble drive!

KAT with a dribble down the lane and gets the leaner to go from outside the lane. 

WE ARE AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER AND THE NUGGETS LEAD BY 2 AFTER A 21-5 RUN TO END THE HALF. 

Edwards has 16 while Porter and Jokic lead the Nuggets with 9 a piece. 

Alexander-Walker into the lane and hits the turn around to end the quarter. 

KCP finds Jokic who was given space for the three ball and he drills it from the wing!

Porter to the line after the foul non Anderson and he hits both FTs. 

Jackson starting to feel it tongiht, he gets the step back three ball to go from the wing. 

Edwards into the lane and he gets the roll on an off balanced jumper and the foul! FT is good after the foul on Jokic. 

Jackson drives the lane and lays it up after blowing by Reid. 

Jackson strips Alexander-Walker and starts the break that ends with a one handed alley jam from Porter!

Timeout Nuggets with 2:23 to go in the 1st quarter. 

Jokic to the line after the foul on Gobert and he hits both FTs. 

Jokic to the line after the foul on Alexander-Walker and he hits both. 7-0 run out of the break for Denver. 

Porter off the dribble and he drills the three in the face of Reid. 

Jokic on the board after the timeout with the turn around hook shot in the paint. 

Towns fires a pass through the lane for Gobert who smashes home a two handed jam. 

Timeout Nuggets with 5:12 to go in the first quarter. 

KAT working the high low with Edwards and he hit him for the easy lay up. ANT has 13 already. 

Porter gets to the elbow and hits it from the spot he loves the most. 

Edwards off the dribble and he cuts through the defense for the lay up on the left side. 

Edwards pulls up from the top of the key and he drills it! He's got 9 already, and could be on the verge of a big night. 

TImeout Denver who is going to try to figure out how to stop ANTMAN. 

Murray to the baseline and he slips it to Gordon across the lane for the two handed slam. 

Edwards with a pump fake to get past Porter, and then hit a shot over Murray in the lane and got the foul! FT is good. 

KAT off the dribble and he burns Gordon, putting the runner of the glass and gets the foul! FT is good. 

Edwards starts us off with a three ball from the corner after being dared to shoot in by KCP. 

WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM DENVER!

Coach Finch is on the floor, sitting right behind the bench, and will be directing the game from his seat. He will be involved in the timeouts, and all of the decisions being made tonight. 

Nuggets starters

Jamal Murray came into this game as questionable, but let's be honest we all knew he was playing. Mike Malone has the best starting five in the West at his disposal, and he is going with that group again tonight in the Game 1 in the second round. 

T'Wolves starters

The Minnesota Timberwolves are coming into tonight with everyone available, and playing their best basketball of the year. These guys are big, and Chris Finch is going to use that to his advantage early on. It's Conley, Edwards, Edwards, KAT and Gobert to start Game 1 in Denver. The Wolves are going to want to start this series hot, and it's going to be up to this five to jump out to a hot start. 

Home court advantage in Denver

These two teams were in a fight til the death for the top spot in West after the regular season. In the end, neither of them got it, but the Nuggets did finish higher than the Wolves, which means they get home court advantage and that could be the difference in the series. The Nuggets took care of business on their home court during their first round series and dating back to last season, they have a record of 13-1 in the postseason from the Mile High City. They worked all season to finish as high as they could in the standings and now it’s time to defend their fortress for the next two games. 

ANT man ready to put on a show

We didn’t need the first round of the playoffs as proof that Anthony Edwards is one of the next generational stars in the league. We knew that already. What last round did do is back up his claim as one of the best players in the league. Not next year. Not tomorrow. Now. This kid is special, and he is only going to get more special. In the first round, he averaged 31 points, 8 rebounds and 6.3 assists, upping his regular season stats across the board. Now he has the chance to add to his legacy against the defending champions, and the reigning MVP. This is going to be a heavyweight bout. Let’s just hope it goes all 12 rounds. 

Joker in is comfort zone

For as good as Nikola Jokic is in the regular season, he is even better in the playoffs. He has the luxury of having fantastic players around him, but that is in large part because of how easy the Serbian makes the game. Taking nothing away from Aaron Gordon, or Michael Porter Jr. or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are are great players, but they are better players when Nikola Jokic is on the court. In the first round, he averaged 28.2 points, 16.2 rebound and 9.8 assists to lead the NBA in each category though one round. Against Minnesota, he is going to be going up against a two time Defensive Player of the Year, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Naz Reid as second and third defensive options. 

NBA

Chris Finch on crutches for Timberwolves: How did he injure himself?

Will Finch coach from sidelines?

The MInnesota TImberwolves come into tonight with all hands on deck on the depth chart, but they have their commander on the sidelines in crutches coming into Game 1. Head coach Chris Finch tore his patella tendon after Mike Conley in the final game of the series against the Suns. We aren't sure if he will be on the sidelines for the Nuggets, but he is in the stadium getting from place to place on crutches. Our William Gittins has more

Timberwolves: how they got here

Minnesota was an up and coming team coming into the season, but if anyone tells you they were on the radar to compete for the top spot in the West, they are lying. Minnesota have been to the playoffs in the last two years, but they hadn’t taken the next step, until this year. The Wolves ended up 3rd in the conference, but only finished a game behind the Thunder and Nuggets. Their first round series against the Suns wasn’t easy, but Minnesota make it look easy. They swept Phoenix throwing that team into a spiral of doubt while propelling themselves to the conference semis for the first time in two decades. They are the in vogue team, but they haven’t won anything yet. They can make a big statement if they can find a way to knock off the champs. 

Nuggets: How they got here

The Nuggets came into their title defense season as one of the favorites in the West, but a lot of teams made a lot of moves aiming to try to knock the top dogs off in the conference. Denver hovered around first place all season, trying to fend off the Clippers at one time, and the Timberwolves and Thunder for the final half of the season. In the end they settled for the one seed after finishing the season with the same record as the top seeded Thunder setting up a first round match up with the Lakers. Denver didn’t get the sweep over LA like they did in the WCF last year, but they did beat the Lakers 4-1 with the help of two late game winners from Jamal Murray to set up a match up with the T’Wolves. 

We are live from Ball Arena

Hello everyone and welcome to the Mile High City where the Denver Nuggets are back home looking to hold home court advantage in the first of two games from Ball Arena tonight. The Nuggets took care of the Lakers 4-1 in the opening round while the Timberwolves swept the newest supposed Super Team in the West, the Phoenix Suns to reach the second round for the first time since 2003. The dark horses in the NBA have a chance to go into the defending champions’ house and hand them a shock loss in the first game of what should be a long, and grueling series. 

Timberwolves vs. Nuggets Game 1

It’s the first of the Conference Semi Finals to begin and it might be the juiciest one of this round. The defending champions against the young guns trying to knock the kings off their thrones. It’s Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves taking on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 and AS English is going to be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight s game from Ball Arena.