Timberwolves Stun Nuggets in Denver With Biggest Second Half Comeback in NBA Game Seven History
The Denver Nuggets led the Minnesota Timberwolves 53-38 at halftime and 58-38 early in the third quarter in game seven at Denver, but the Timberwolves closed the game with a 60-32 run to eliminate the defending champions, 98-90. The Timberwolves thus pulled off the biggest second half comeback since the NBA began tracking play by play data 25 years ago. The Timberwolves prevailed in a roller coaster series during which they won the first two games in Denver, then lost three games in a row--including games three and four at home--before winning game six at home and game seven on the road. One might think that it would be uncommon for the defending champion to lose game seven at home, but the Nuggets are the ninth NBA defending champion to be eliminated at home in game seven. Some defending champions, such as the L.A. Lakers in 2021, were eliminated by a home loss even earlier than game seven in the second round; those Lakers lost game six at home in the first round.
Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota in scoring (23 points) and rebounding (12), while Jaden McDaniels matched Towns with 23 points. Anthony Edwards had 16 points, eight rebounds, and a game-high seven assists, but he shot just 6-24 from the field--including four points on 1-7 field goal shooting in the first half. The much-maligned Rudy Gobert made his presence felt with 13 points, nine rebounds, and two blocked shots, while Mike Conley was a steadying influence with 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and a game-best +14 plus/minus number. Naz Reid added 11 points off of the bench, and his defense and energy provided a big boost.
Jamal Murray scored a game-high 35 points on 13-27 field goal shooting, but the Timberwolves pressured him in the second half and held him to 11 points on 5-12 field goal shooting in the final 24 minutes. Nikola Jokic had 34 points on 13-28 field goal shooting, plus a game-high 19 rebounds, and a game-high seven assists. He shot poorly from three point range (2-10), but other than that it is difficult to find much to criticize about his performance. Road wins in game seven used to be rare in the NBA--the
home team won 21 straight game sevens from 1982-1995--but this is the
second time that Jokic's Nuggets have blown a double digit lead
at home in game seven: they squandered a 17 point lead to Portland in
2019.
Murray dominated the first quarter, scoring 13 points on 5-10 field goal shooting as Denver led 24-19 after the first stanza. Murray added 11 second quarter points as the Nuggets seemed to be pulling away for good, but the Timberwolves used a balanced attack to outscore the Nuggets 28-14 in the third quarter while also winning the rebounding battle 15-8. Jokic scored 14 fourth quarter points, but only two other Nuggets scored at all while six Timberwolves combined to score 32 points. The Timberwolves took the lead for good when Conley's three pointer at the 9:26 mark made the score 75-72. The Timberwolves enjoyed at least a two possession advantage for the final 4:10.
TNT's Kenny Smith made an excellent point in the postgame show when he noted that the narratives about star players are often shaped by
team results: Edwards' poor shooting will be forgotten, Smith asserted, and
the narrative will be that Edwards was poised down the stretch and that he
trusted his teammates. I don't base my analysis and commentary on narratives promoted by others, but it is legitimate to ask how to distinguish Edwards' play from how James Harden typically performs in an elimination game.
There are several differences between Edwards' inefficient game seven performance and James Harden's pathetic elimination game resume: Edwards led his teammates instead of separating himself from them, Edwards played hard on defense, Edwards played aggressively on offense in a way that tilted the defense toward him to open up opportunities for his teammates, and even with his errant shooting Edwards still easily avoided the dreaded "Harden," which refers to accumulating more turnovers than field goals made (Edwards had just one turnover).
Speaking of narratives, three-time regular season MVP Jokic will likely be criticized for "failing" to lead his team to a repeat championship, as if this is a significant shortcoming. It is easy to forget that only a few players led their teams to repeat titles:
- George Mikan--voted the best basketball player of the first half of the 20th century--led the Minneapolis Lakers to five championships in six years (1949-50, 1952-54).
- Bill Russell--the greatest winner in the history of North American team sports--led the Boston Celtics to 11 championships in 13 seasons (1957, 1959-66, 1968-69).
- Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy led the L.A. Lakers to back to back championships (1987-88).
- Isiah Thomas led the Detroit Pistons to back to back championships (1989-90).
- Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen led the Chicago Bulls to a pair of threepeats (1991-93, 1996-98).
- Hakeem Olajuwon led the Houston Rockets to back to back championships (1994-95).
- Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant led the L.A. Lakers to a threepeat (2000-02).
- Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to back to back championships (2009-10).
- LeBron James and Dwyane Wade led the Miami Heat to back to back championships (2012-13).
- Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry led the Golden State Warriors to back to back championships (2017-18).
The players mentioned above played for all of their listed repeat or threepeat squads and were selected to the NBA's 50 Greatest Players List, the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, or both all-time teams. Note that Isiah Thomas is the only player from prior to 2009 who led his team to back to back championships without playing alongside another player on the NBA's 50 Greatest Players List. Dennis Rodman, who played for both the 1989-90 Pistons and the 1996-98 Bulls, was selected to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team. Hakeem Olajuwon's 1995 championship team had Clyde Drexler, who was selected to both the NBA's 50 Greatest Players List and the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team. Kobe Bryant is the only player to lead his team to back to back championships without playing alongside a player on either the NBA's 50 Greatest Players List or the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.
Jokic has yet to play with a single All-Star player, let alone a member of one of the NBA's all-time teams. If Jokic had led Denver to repeat titles he would have placed himself in a unique category in terms of winning multiple championships without another superstar or even another star.
After Durant fled Golden State in 2019 to go to Brooklyn (and then Phoenix), no NBA champion has even made it back to the NBA Finals the next season (but the Warriors eventually made it back in 2022 and won a title without Durant). Half of the 14 members of my pro basketball Pantheon--Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Larry Bird, and Tim Duncan--never won repeat titles. Jokic may win repeat titles late in his career like Abdul-Jabbar, he may win several titles without ever repeating, or he may finish his career with one championship. That uncertainty surrounding any active player is a major reason that the first iteration of my Pantheon included 10 retired players, supplemented by just four (then) active players, three of whom had already won multiple titles when I first put together my Pantheon.
The Nuggets won the 2023 NBA championship
because of Jokic's all-around brilliance combined with Murray's clutch
shooting and the team's ability to overwhelm opponents with their size.
Although I picked Denver to win this series, I
noted that Denver and Minnesota are mirror images of each other because
their rosters were built by the same man--Tim Connelly--with the same
underlying basketball philosophy that values size and physicality. In this series, the Timberwolves
"out-Nuggeted" the Nuggets, using their size to dominate the paint and
wear down Jokic and Murray. It will be very interesting to see how far Edwards and the Timberwolves advance not only this year but for the next several years. Will this prove to be a fluky Conference Finals run like the recent runs authored by the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers, or is this just the start of a sustained run of excellence? The Hawks and Trail Blazers were each led by a small guard who is averse to defense, while the Timberwolves are a defensive powerhouse stacked with excellent big man and led by a tremendously talented "midsize" player, so those distinctions should give a good hint regarding how sustainable Minnesota's success will prove to be.
Labels: Anthony Edwards, Denver Nuggets, Jamal Murray, Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert
posted by David Friedman @ 12:57 AM
3 Comments:
Jokic played great, but his impact wasn't there in the 2nd half when Minnesota was making their charge. At one point, he had Reid one-on-one mid paint with no double team in sight and Reid just blocked his shot. Jokic is a very smart player overall, but I question his mental state in this series, especially game 7, but his physical game might be part of the problem too if he was too tired to venture inside the 3-point line so often. He's an ok 3-point shooter, but by no means a good one. To jack up as many 3's as he did for the series especially in game 7 especially when he's throwing up bricks, that's a bad strategy. He's making it much easier for Minnesotat. Minnesota only scored 98 points and was down by 20 in the second half on the road. Minnesota is a good team, but it's not like they're a historically-elite team by any means. Jokic and Denver still have failed to beat a 50-win team in the playoffs. While Jokic has never played with another AS teammate, his cast was tops in last year's playoffs, and Murray has played at an AS level for several playoffs in his career. Jokic has a lot more help than you're implying.
Gobert is a solid player. It's confusing how much of a liability he is on offense sometimes though. He is probably the best defensive player in the league, which shows how much more important individual offense is over individual defense. But, when Minnesota is clicking on defense as a team, that's deadly for opposing teams, and they're able to do that without Gobert sometimes. They stunk offensively and still won a game 7 on the road. I'm sure both teams had calls go against them, but those 2 last fouls against Gobert in the 4th quarter are big head scratchers to say the least. The officials need to do better than that. That could've changed the game big time.
Anonymous:
I can always count on at least one comment that relies on out of context snippets to distort and minimize Jokic's impact.
I don't engage with these kinds of assertions that are devoid of evidence or relevant context:
1) Reid blocked Jokic's shot one on one, therefore Jokic is clearly overrated.
2) The Nuggets have yet to beat a 50-win team in the playoffs, so let's pretend that their 2023 championship does not matter.
3) I can see the future, and I already know even before the end of the 2024 playoffs that Minnesota is not a historically elite team now or in the next five years.
4) Jokic's cast was tops in last year's playoffs because, well, I said so, and as an anonymous commenter I know everything.
I am not "implying" how much help Jokic has. I am stating facts. He has never played with an All-Star, let alone a player on the 50 Greatest Players List or 75th Anniversary Team. For most of his Denver career, the on/off splits show that Denver is an elite team when Jokic is on the court and mediocre (or worse) when he is not on the court. If you don't like facts and you don't like fact-based analysis, then you are visiting the wrong website.
For what it is worth...
The Nuggets may never make it back to the Finals. Why?
Ant is on the rise. OKC Thunder is also on the verge.
The Mavericks & the Wolves are here to stay. And Wemby is already ahead of schedule. We saw a glimpse of the future Wemby when he led the Spurs to a comeback victory over the Nuggets in their season finale. That dropped the Nuggets to second seed.
The Western Conference is already a bloodbath and will only get tougher.
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