Inside the Timberwolves’ record Game 7 comeback that dethroned the Nuggets

DENVER – The most euphoric day in the history of the Minnesota Timberwolves – an NBA franchise that has long been on a first-name basis with misery – began as a mess.

Anthony Edwards was engulfed by the Denver Nuggets’ persistent double teams. Rudy Gobert kept trying to punish smaller defenders with nothing to show for his efforts. Karl-Anthony Towns couldn’t find the range on his usually reliable 3-point shot. And most of the Timberwolves’ role players looked overwhelmed by a menacing stage: Game 7 on the road against the defending champions.

The halftime damage was 53-38 in Denver’s favor. After a break to stew on its woes, Minnesota promptly gave up five quick points to Jamal Murray to open the third quarter. The Timberwolves’ promising season was no longer hanging on the ledge – it had started the downward plunge into a ravine of the purest pain.

They had their shot by winning the first two games of this second-round playoff series in Denver. Then, they lost their shot by suffering three straight defeats. Then, they had their shot again by winning Game 6 by 45 points to avoid elimination. Now, they had seemingly lost their shot again by falling into a 20-point hole against three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, who had the NBA’s third-best winning percentage in games that were decided by five or fewer points during the regular season.

Over the ensuing 22 minutes, the Timberwolves proceeded to pull off the biggest Game 7 comeback in NBA history, scoring a 98-90 victory at Ball Arena on Sunday to reach their first Western Conference final since 2004. Fittingly, the Timberwolves ended the Nuggets’ title defense as a pack: Edwards, Gobert, Towns, Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley and Naz Reid all made vital contributions to the record-setting turnaround.

By the time a stunned Denver crowd was overwhelmed by thousands of elated Minnesota fans who had witnessed a miracle, the Timberwolves had closed the game on a 60-32 run that somehow exceeded their 58-38 third-quarter deficit in lopsidedness. The Timberwolves’ reward for bungee-cording back from the brink is a date with the Dallas Mavericks for a chance to reach their first NBA Finals since joining the league in 1989 as an expansion franchise.

The Western Conference final begins Wednesday.

“This series was wild,” said Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, who oversaw his organization’s first playoff series win in 20 years. “This game was just a microcosm of the entire series.”

Indeed, the story of the series was Minnesota’s top-ranked defense subduing a Denver offense that looked unstoppable during its 2023 title run. The Nuggets’ stars showed up: Jokic posted 34 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists, and Murray had his best showing of the postseason with 35 points. But Denver’s supporting cast, including starters Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, faded when the Timberwolves cranked up their defense in the third quarter. Aside from Jokic and Murray, the other Nuggets combined for just 21 points on 28 shots for the night and managed only three points in the fourth quarter.

Crushed by the abrupt end, Nuggets coach Michael Malone lamented that his juggernaut attack “couldn’t score” in its four losses to the Timberwolves and was reduced to “expecting Nikola and Jamal to continue to pull rabbits out of their hats.” He bristled when asked about the blown 20-point lead.

“The season’s over,” Malone said. “You don’t understand that. It’s hard. Stupid … questions. … All I’m thinking about is that we’re done. For me, that hurts. For our players, that hurts. I consider the San Antonio Spurs a dynasty, and they never won back-to-back. This is just a momentary delay. It’s a failure; it’s not fatal. We’ll be back.”

Denver’s lagging attack opened the door for Minnesota’s counter. Finch said he had emphasized simplifying the offense and better rebounding during his halftime speech, noting Minnesota had tried unsuccessfully to hunt mismatches when Denver used its guards to defend Gobert and Towns. Edwards said Finch’s halftime speech included video clips of playmaking decisions that needed to change for Minnesota to advance.

“I was really pissed about the offense,” Finch said. “We were trying to over-orchestrate matchups and mismatches, and we played right into their hands. The offense had degenerated completely for no real reason.”

The Timberwolves got his message, and all five starters scored during a season-saving 15-1 run in the third quarter. Minnesota kept the pressure on in the fourth with a boost from Reid, the NBA’s sixth man of the year. Reid blocked Jokic twice, corralled multiple offensive rebounds, scored six points in quick succession and then found Edwards in the right corner for a dagger three-pointer that put Minnesota up 10 points with a little more than three minutes remaining.

With the stunning victory in hand, Minnesota’s key players found redemption one by one. TNT commentator Charles Barkley opined that Gobert should be benched at halftime, but the much-maligned center scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half and made crucial defensive stops.

“I don’t watch these guys,” Gobert said after reaching the West final for the first time in his 11-year career. “I’m glad Coach didn’t listen to (Barkley’s) advice.”

History will remember that Minnesota’s comeback reached peak serendipity when Gobert made a fading 12-foot turnaround jumper over Jokic with just under eight minutes remaining. More than 95 % of Gobert’s shot attempts during the regular season came from inside 10 feet, so it was no wonder Jokic held his head in disbelief as the improbable shot swished through.

“When Rudy hit the turnaround, I was like, ‘Yeah, we’ve probably got them.’ I know that will kill you,” Edwards said. “That will kill everything.”

Like the 31-year-old Gobert, Towns savored a long-awaited breakthrough. The 28-year-old big man had never won a playoff series until this season – his ninth in Minnesota. Though he had developed a reputation as an unreliable postseason contributor, Towns held up well defensively against Jokic in Game 7 and finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

If not for Towns’ early scoring, the Timberwolves would have lost contact with the Nuggets before halftime. An emotional Towns, who lost his mother to COVID-19 in 2020, hugged his father and his girlfriend on the court after the final buzzer.

“I definitely had a moment,” Towns said. “I’ve been here nine years. I’ve talked about wanting to win and do something special here. For all the failures and all the things that didn’t materialize and happen, and the disappointment that comes with it, (it’s nice) to have this moment to celebrate the wins.”

McDaniels, credited by Edwards as the X-factor for Minnesota’s playoff run, made Denver pay for its double teams by scoring 23 points and shooting 3 for 4 from outside. The long and athletic forward also hounded the Nuggets’ perimeter players throughout the series, one year after he broke his hand punching a wall and missed the playoffs entirely.

As for Conley, a 36-year-old point guard who will return to the West final for the first time since 2013, the win avenged a first-round loss to the Nuggets in the 2020 playoffs when he was a member of the Utah Jazz. That series ended with Conley having a potential game-winner rim off in Game 7. This time, Conley made two timely 3-pointers after halftime.

“Mike Conley is the most underrated player in the NBA, probably,” Jokic said. “I love the guy. He is so good. He always makes the right play.”

While his veteran teammates battled ghosts from the past, Edwards made up for a 1-for-7 shooting performance in the first half by finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals in the first Game 7 of his career. The 22-year-old guard was thrilled with his team’s progress after first-round exits in 2022 and 2023, and he crowed about his defensive success against Murray while exchanging handshakes with friends and family in a Ball Arena hallway.

“I had Jamal in handcuffs,” he declared, to much satisfied laughter.

The glee didn’t leave his voice as he sat at the news conference podium, trying to process the fact that the Timberwolves, who missed the playoffs in 15 of the 16 seasons before he was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, were on the right side of an incredible NBA record. Misery needed to make some new friends.

“Today was crazy,” said Edwards, still in disbelief. “We were down 20.”