Chances lost, opportunities grabbed.
The NBA playoffs are played game to game, quarter to quarter, possession to possession.
A seven-game series between two teams vying for the championship puts more emphasis on margin of error and attention to detail.
After winning both games in Denver to open their Western Conference semifinal series, the Minnesota Timberwolves had the best possible start to their playoff run, leading 2-0 against the Denver Nuggets. For the Timberwolves to take a formidable 3-1 lead, they just needed to win one game at home.
Missed opportunity.
The series was tied at 2-2 after the Nuggets won the next two games in Minneapolis.
In Game 4, Denver defeated Minnesota 115-107 on Sunday.
Seizing the moment.
Denver grabbed charge in the second quarter, holding off every Timberwolves run, and led 64-49 at the intermission. In the last quarter, Minnesota found it difficult to pull within ten, and Denver answered.
With 1:41 left, the Timberwolves trimmed Denver’s lead to 111-104. There was a flicker of light. And who turned out the lights? MVP Nikola Jokic made it 113-104 with a quick run, and with 25.8 seconds remaining, he extended the lead to 115-107 with a basket. Of Jokic’s 35 points for the team, 16 came in the fourth quarter. Add three steals, one block, seven rebounds, seven assists, and seven steals for the Serbian great.
Whatever transpired in the opening two games of the series, the Nuggets managed to force a best-of-three series and win back home court advantage. How many home games will the Nuggets lose in the playoffs? It takes strength to knock out the champion in any sport, whether it be boxing, the NFL, MLB, NHL, WNBA, or another one.
The Nuggets were written off a week ago; they were a squad that had been beaten and dusted and were up against a team that was built to defeat them. The Timberwolves are the ones who are searching for answers right now in what has been an intense series.
Against Minnesota’s top-ranked defense, Denver has found ways to score points. The Nuggets made 44.8% of their 3-pointers and shot 57% overall. In spite of Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns crowding the three-time MVP, Jokic managed to find a way to score 19 points, gather eight assists, five rebounds, and two steals while Murray, who is limited by a strained left calf, is shooting jumpers again.
The Nuggets were written off a week ago; they were a squad that had been beaten and dusted and were up against a team that was built to defeat them. The Timberwolves are the ones who are searching for answers right now in what has been an intense series.
Against Minnesota’s top-ranked defense, Denver has found ways to score points. The Nuggets made 44.8% of their 3-pointers and shot 57% overall. In spite of Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns crowding the three-time MVP, Jokic managed to find a way to score 19 points, gather eight assists, five rebounds, and two steals while Murray, who is limited by a strained left calf, is shooting jumpers again.
Aaron Gordon put up the kind of performance that has made him an inconspicuous but crucial component of Denver’s victory: 27 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. Using a combined 6-for-9 3-point shooting percentage, Reggie Jackson, Justin Holiday, and Christian Braun scored 27 points off the bench.
The Nuggets remain composed. One characteristic of a championship squad is that.
A note regarding Anthony Edwards, the guard with the Timberwolves. He is a celebrity. The analogies to Michael Jordan are irrelevant. It’s entertainment, enjoyable, and harmless; in a millennium, it might not even matter. Enjoy this magnificent wonder together.
In Game 4, he recorded his best-ever postseason performance with 44 points, five assists, five rebounds, two steals, and one block. However, it wasn’t a triumph.
There are still opportunities.
For both teams.
Notable instances include the following: Los Angeles Clippers over Dallas in 2021; Boston over Chicago in 2017; Dallas over Houston in 2005; Houston over Phoenix in 1994; and Los Angeles Lakers over San Francisco in 1969. The home team has lost the first two games of a best-of-seven NBA series 33 times.
