The Denver Nuggets stayed alive Monday night time, and the Minnesota Timberwolves nearly misplaced one other key participant within the first spherical of the playoffs.
Nikola Jokić and the No. 3-seeded Nuggets took benefit of the undermanned No. 6 Timberwolves, profitable 125-113 in Sport 5 at Ball Enviornment to chop it to a 3-2 sequence deficit.
With the Timberwolves already with out Anthony Edwards (knee) and Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles), Naz Reid went down after showing to roll his ankle within the third quarter. It was in that quarter that the Nuggets, enjoying with out Aaron Gordon (calf) for the second time within the first spherical, ran away with it, constructing a 25-point lead en path to snapping a three-game dropping streak.
Jokić completed with a triple-double, 27 factors, 12 rebounds and 16 assists. Jamal Murray added 24 factors, and Spencer Jones had 20 factors.
Reid returned within the fourth quarter, however the Timberwolves will likely be with out Edwards and DiVincenzo in Sport 6 at residence Thursday. Edwards, who suffered a hyperextension and bone bruise in his left knee in Sport 4, is taken into account week to week. The workforce’s main scorer hasn’t been dominated out for the remainder of the playoffs.
Julius Randle led Minnesota with 27 factors, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Ayo Dosunmu, the Wolves’ hero of Sunday’s Sport 4, had 18 factors.
Listed below are some takeaways from Sport 5.
An unlikely hero for Denver
Their season on the road amid a sequence of disappointments, the Nuggets wanted one thing particular from any individual. Anyone.
They bought it Monday in Sport 5 when the least costly participant on the roster — Jones — erupted for 20 factors to breathe life again into the Nuggets.
Coach David Adelman stated earlier than the sport it might be “all palms on deck” for Denver, however Jones needed to be among the many very unlikely candidates to rescue the Nuggets. He began the season as a two-way participant and was transformed to an NBA contract on Feb. 19. Undrafted out of Stanford, he made his mark on the Nuggets totally on protection whereas beginning 37 video games of his 64 video games. His 20 factors had been practically 4 occasions his season common (5.5 factors) and eight off his profession excessive scored in a December loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
On Monday, whereas beginning for the injured Gordon, Jones spearheaded the Nuggets’ breakaway third quarter, once they outscored Minnesota 37-24 to increase a 60-51 halftime result in 97-75 coming into the fourth. Jones had 11 of his 20 factors within the quarter, which included 3 of three on 3-pointers. All instructed, Jones went 7 of 9 from the sector, 4 of 5 from 3-point vary and added three rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
Now, with two days off earlier than Sport 6 in Minneapolis, the Nuggets all of a sudden have all of the momentum. Gordon, who has been restricted with a sore calf, can have 4 days off from the final time he performed in Sport 4. In the meantime, the wounded Timberwolves — already down Edwards and DiVincenzo — misplaced tremendous sub Naz Reid within the third quarter to an ankle damage.
Jones was the headliner of the desperation crew that Adelman despatched out for Sport 5. Level guard Tyus Jones made his first non-garbage time look and offered an early spark, and heart Jonas Valančiūnas added 9 factors.
But it surely was Spencer Jones, who’s making $623,967 this season — lower than the $673,469 Nikola Jokić makes for one sport — who stepped up within the season’s most important sport to maintain the season alive. — Jason Fast
McDaniels’ struggles
It was a tough night time for Jaden McDaniels, the chief provocateur on this sequence.
Booed each time he touched the ball by the Ball Enviornment crowd, McDaniels picked up two fouls within the first two minutes of the sport to go to the bench early. He scored 13 factors, was 0-for-3 from 3-point vary and dedicated 4 turnovers.
With Edwards and DiVincenzo each out for the sequence with accidents, the Wolves want McDaniels to be a real two-way risk if they will shut out the Nuggets.
He has been on the focus ever since he known as out Denver’s protection after a win in Sport 2. He stirred the pot once more on the finish of Sport 4 when he scored a layup within the last seconds of a cushty Wolves victory. That prompted Jokić to streak throughout the court docket and confront him, touching off a fracas between the 2 groups earlier than they went to the locker room. Jokić and Randle had been fined for his or her roles within the confrontation.
There was one other dustup within the third quarter, when McDaniels wrapped up Jokić across the neck on a drive to the basket after a foul on Murray, a transfer Jokić took exception to. Within the fourth, McDaniels and Valančiūnas bought into it and obtained double technical fouls for an prolonged bleep-talking session.
This time, the Nuggets had been those doing the taunting. Christian Braun threw down a giant dunk in transition within the third quarter, then pointed at McDaniels all the way in which down the court docket, drawing a technical foul.
The Ball Enviornment crowd serenaded McDaniels with “JADEN SUCKS!” chants within the fourth quarter.
You give and also you get. — Jon Krawczynski
A thinner pack
The Wolves discovered precisely what life with out Edwards and DiVincenzo will likely be like on offense. It’s a way more difficult street.
There was a lot much less room for them to work with on Monday with out two of their finest flooring spacers. The Nuggets had struggled mightily to shut the driving lanes, however they had been in a position to cling again and pack the paint with out having to fret about getting overwhelmed by 3s from Edwards and DiVincenzo.
The Timberwolves had a tough time adjusting. They turned the ball over 14 occasions within the first half and 25 occasions for the sport, neutralizing their robust taking pictures from 3. It additionally prevented them from getting on prime of the Nuggets early. Regardless of all the turnovers, they had been solely down 5 factors late within the second quarter. Maintain the ball, and the lead is theirs, and the Nuggets could have began to get actually nervous.
As an alternative, the Wolves offered little risk and it trickled over to the defensive finish. Denver was in a position to be extra aggressive, getting within the gaps and leaping passing lanes, and Minnesota simply stored giving the ball away time and again.
The Nuggets scored 35 factors off the Wolves’ errors, fueling an offense that was held beneath 100 factors within the earlier two video games.
The Wolves got here into Sport 5 averaging simply 12 turnovers within the sequence. — Krawczynski