Nuggets Defeat Timberwolves in Intense Series with Murray and Jokić Leading the Charge.

 

Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic defeat the Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves to win the series in the first round. The Denver Nuggets certainly know how to make a five-game series extremely interesting. 

The Nuggets beat the Timberwolves 112-109 on Tuesday night to win the series 4-1 and advance to the second round. It was a close game and series, but the Nuggets proved too talented and disciplined for the Timberwolves to pull through. 

 Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 35 points, four rebounds, and five assists, surpassing the Nuggets as nobody on the team scored in the first three quarters of the game. Denver needed every detail of his performance today and delivered in the most important moments. 

 Nikola Jokić had both a great and a terrible game. In playoff basketball, there are only two ways for a team to kick the ball: efficiently and purposefully, knowing what's at stake, or like real trash... knowing what's at stake.  the Nuggets and Timberwolves combined shot 8 of 36 from three-point range (22.2%). The Nuggets also shot poorly from two runs to just 42.9%. 

There were many middle-distance jumps and swimming events that were unusual for the team, especially Jokic. He was only 2 of 10 off the field in the first half and struggled with his efficiency throughout the game. Luckily, Jokic is also an exceptional player and has found other ways to influence the game: he hits a triple-double late in the third quarter and has good defensive possession. When the Nuggets needed him later in the fourth quarter, he absolutely served his purpose, scoring seven points to level the tie at 1:46 and take a five-point lead. 

 

 "It just happened," said Jokic about the early jumpers who didn't fall. "Personally I didn't mean to 'shoot' or anything, but it just happened." 

 

 The Nuggets seem to trust Jokic completely. He's the one making the decisions in those moments, even if Murray is leaving. The ball should be in his hands and the nuggets live or die depending on how he plays. As a two-time MVP, Jokić played a lot more often and consistently played at a high level in the playoffs. Despite having a poor offensive play by his standards in Game 5, the Nuggets still trusted Jokić to come through and he did.

Jokić also had some great defensive moments, helping the Nuggets win the game in this final with a quick save against Anthony Edwards, who wasn't as good in Game 5 as in the previous games. He won the DPOG channel and made everything possible. 

 

 Jamal Murray kept the Nuggets in If it weren't for Jamal Murray tonight, the Nuggets would have been swept with an eight on their floor. After two bad games in Minnesota with Nickeil Alexander-Walker that made life very difficult for him, Murray turned things around a bit, landing the ball on almost every possession he had to dribble to the ground. It allowed him to run free and get off the ball, and he did.

 

 Murray hit 35 carries, shooting 12 of 23 from the field and 5 of 9 with a 3-pointer. With Alexander-Walker being so physically against Murray throughout the series, it was great to see Murray finding ways to open up and convert the open shots he was generating. He told all the T'Wolves players about it because they couldn't keep him 1-on-1.

 

 It wasn't until Murray started hitting the pick and roll that he really slowed down as a goalscorer, but instead of pushing with long shots, Murray took over control of the attack on Jokić, who took the nuggets off the track to the finish. 

 

 "I think Jamal Murray got tired of hearing about [Nicheil Alexander Walker]," Malone shared after the game."I think he said ok let me show you what I can do and we saw Jamal a few times." 

 

 "Jamal threw a few pitches and Jamal plays with a lot of emotion and I think he kept our team going, the guys on the bench kept our team going and that kept our home crowd moving." 

 

 Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. came when it counted. The Nuggets aren't going to win this game without Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. showing up in the fourth quarter. Brown was tasked with Anthony Edwards to finish the last 12 minutes of the series and he did a good job of limiting Edward's activity with the help of Jokic's blitz. 

Brown was defensive all night, passing the ball, deflecting shots, and making his tackles uncomfortable. Brown, on the other hand, reached the free throw line eight times and made all eight free throws. His aggression was a big deal when Alexander-Walker was after Murray, and in the minutes without Murray on the pitch, Brown was mostly a good offensive decider.

Porter couldn't shoot the entire game and wasn't particularly good defensively in the first three quarters. He stuck with it, however, and when it came to the fourth quarter he played the full 12 minutes, spinning well on defense, diving after a Rudy Gobert was stopped and eventually scoring three points. The three were a big deal back then and underscored exactly why Porter needed to be there. It needs to be watched closely, otherwise, it can play a big role in important moments. 

 

 "If he doesn't shoot, nobody else should shoot," Jokić said of Porter, encouraging him to keep shooting despite his struggles."He's our top scorer. I think everyone believes in him. Even if he's a bad scorer, we think he'll come out. 

 

 The Nuggets played a little too much with their food this series, but they got the job anyway and managed in five games  The Timberwolves threw up a few problems, but the Nuggets were able to fix some of them and time and time again overwhelmed the Timberwolves with their talent.

 

 Now the Nuggets will move on and play the most stressful series in recent history. The Phoenix Suns had just beaten the Los Angeles Clippers in five games, although like Denver, the games were perhaps closer than they should have been. 

Without Kawhi Leonard in the last three games of the series and without Paul George in all five games, there was a serious talent gap that proved insurmountable. The Nuggets will have comparable talent on the show and 

 will most likely boil down to matchups, relationships, and who wants more. However, Jokić and Murray have shown that they will. There is no doubt that the Nuggets could take part in this series and even win it. However, this will be their biggest test of the 2022-23 season and everyone will have to face the situation if the Nuggets want to win it. Let's see what happens.

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Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA playoffs, Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokić, Bruce Brown, Michael Porter Jr., game recap, series win.

#NBAPlayoffs #DenverNuggets #MinnesotaTimberwolves #JamalMurray #NikolaJokic #BruceBrown #MichaelPorterJr #GameRecap #SeriesWin.