Denver Nuggets advance to the Western Conference semifinals after defeating Minnesota Timberwolves
Denver Nuggets advance to Western Conference Semifinals after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-109 as star man Nikola Jokic posts triple-double
- Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double with 28 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists
- Big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert were both eliminated late in the game in foul fashion
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Nikola Jokic had a triple-double and Jamal Murray scored 35 points as the Denver Nuggets knocked out the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-109 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.
Anthony Edwards, who led Minnesota with 29 points, hit the back iron on a 27-foot 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.
Jokic overcame a slow offensive start to finish with 28 points, 17 rebounds and a dozen assists. He only made 8 of 29 shots, but scored eight points on the stretch to help the Nuggets fend off the pesky Timberwolves.
Michael Malone passed Doug Moe with his 25th playoff win as Nuggets head coach.
The top-seeded Nuggets will face the Los Angeles Clippers-Phoenix Suns series winner in the second round.
The Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals after defeating the Twolves
Jamal Murray led the way for the Nuggets with 35 points in the standings performance
Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double with 28 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists for Denver
Those teams later tipped Tuesday night that the Suns needed one more win to end the Clippers’ season.
Denver advanced on 32 of 36 free throws.
Michael Porter Jr. was held without a basket until his dunk with 10:08 left in the game. Jokic missed eight of his first 10 shots 48 hours after leading a career playoff high with 43 points in a Game 4 overtime loss at Minnesota.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 26 points for the Wolves, Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 15 rebounds before going out and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 14 points.
The Nuggets got 14 points from Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown, who were in Edwards’ face at the tying goal at the buzzer.
Porter scored all of his eight points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of clutch three-pointers after missing his first five shots from behind the arc.
The Nuggets went into halftime with a lead for the fifth time in the series, but they led only 48-47 after Jokic and Porter went a combined 2 for 16 from the floor.
Murray, whose 16 first-half points kept the Nuggets in after falling behind by 13 early on, got a long rebound and stopped for a 26-foot 3-pointer when no defender picked him up in transition.
That put Denver ahead 48-45 with their first lead since the opening minutes.
The Wolves, who avoided a sweep with an overtime victory in Minneapolis on Sunday, jumped out to a 25-12 lead before the Nuggets began to chip away.
Anthony Edwards led the way for Minesota with 29 points and several clutch baskets late
Edwards reacts after missing a three-point shot at the last second to tie the game and go to overtime