minneapolis– jaden mcdaniels Had 32 more points and 10 rebounds terence shannon jr. Scored 24 points in a surprising debut for an injury-plagued player. minnesota timberwolves one in win 110-98 Above denver nuggets Another tense NBA playoff series between the rivals ended in Game 6 on Thursday night.
With their top three guards out due to injuries, the Timberwolves achieved great success Rudy Gobert, julius randall And Naz Reed Had a 64-40 advantage in points in the paint and a 50-33 advantage in rebounding.
“That’s what you don’t really teach. It’s about willpower. It’s about heart, and that’s how we were able to overcome this big challenge,” said Gobert, who had 10 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Minnesota, the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, will begin the second round. San Antonio On Monday. Second seeded Spurs defeated portland in five games in their first-round series.
Nikola Jokic Had 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Nuggets, but the sidekick jamal mare Struggled to get free from McDaniels and finished with only 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting. cameron johnson Denver scored 27 points on the night, going 10 of 27, but Jokic and the 3-pointers weren’t enough to keep up with a highly motivated Timberwolves team.
“I’m glad it’s over, glad we were able to come out on top,” McDaniels said. “The point was said. I’m happy that we were all able to prove our point, get the win and move on to the next round.”
with Ayo Dosunmu join in Anthony Edwards And donte divincenzo On the inactive list, the Timberwolves were missing a big part of their shot making ability.
Winning this game will require an extra dose of defense and energy, and they brought both. Shannon added an element of pure speed that the Nuggets couldn’t stop when getting space to the basket. McDaniels, playing the villain, was a monster on both ends of the court. The Timberwolves bullied the roaring crowd at every turn and compensated for their missing offense with consistent hustle and desire.
Shannon’s three-point play with 1:43 left gave the Timberwolves a six-point lead, and McDaniels followed with a dagger shot – his signature midrange pull-up was a swish from 19 feet that made it a seven-point game with 1:06 left. He then intercepted a tough pass from Jokic to get the ball back and start a parade to the free throw line.
Since defeating the Timberwolves in five games in the first round and reaching the NBA Championship in 2023, the Nuggets have not found the production or courage needed to complement three-time MVP Jokic. They swept the series with a decisive win in Game 5 on Monday, but Minnesota’s defense has performed well again this postseason to neutralize Jokic and make Murray an afterthought.
McDaniels pursued him tirelessly around the perimeter. Gobert, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year award winner, continued to challenge Jokic with his long arms and great anticipation.
McDaniels added even more spice to this well-developed rivalry with his blanket “bad defenders” jab at the Nuggets early in the series, and neither of the Timberwolves made any secret of their distaste for their rival.
Then their motivation went off the charts when DiVincenzo went down in the opening minutes of Game 4, and their franchise player, Edwards, went on the injured list after that. During a stoppage in the fourth quarter, DiVincenzo was shown with a big smile as he sat behind the bench with his leg elevated in a cast.
