EShortly before Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs Western semi-final series took place, the Minnesota Timberwolves shared information that they would play without Rudy Gobert, a candidate for the Defensive Player of The Year title.
Rudy Gobert was forced to return home to welcome his first child with his family, opening up an opportunity for the defending champion Denver Nuggets to regain the feeling of victory. But not only did they lose that opportunity, Nikola Jokic and his teammates also had a terrible match.
Despite having to play away from home and without the club’s top defensive expert, the Minnesota Timberwolves still locked down the Denver Nuggets right from the first minutes of play.
The gap in the match was almost 30 points at one point before the “Wolves” won the final blow-out with a score of 106-80, taking a surprising 2-0 lead over the defending NBA champions .
Now the Timberwolves are facing the opportunity to eliminate the Denver Nuggets from the 2024 NBA Playoffs with the next two matches at home, which will take place on May 11 and May 13.
Anthony Edwards continues to play the role of Minnesota’s top star, increasingly looking like a “little Michael Jordan” playing in 2024. Edwards scored 27 points with 7 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals for the Timberwolves in Game 2.
Next to “Ant-man” is Karl-Anthony Towns, owner of 27 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks. Sixth Man of The Year titleholder Naz Reid stepped into the role of main center to replace Rudy Gobert, pocketing 14 points with 4 blocks and 5 rebounds.
On the Denver Nuggets side, Aaron Gordon scored the most points with 20 PTS, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal. Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists (5-13 FG). The third highest scorer on the team is Justin Holiday with 13 points. Jamal Murray only had 8 points today with 3-18 FG (0-4 3PT).
The Timberwolves defense continues to “suffocate” the Denver Nuggets
Even without center forward Rudy Gobert protecting the area near the basket in Game 2, the Minnesota Timberwolves were still able to disrupt the Denver Nuggets’ offensive tempo with a series of situations that closed in on the ball carrier right from the middle of the field.
Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., who could untie the knot for Denver in the first round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, now constantly have to face the Timberwolves’ annoying defense.
Nikola Jokic was also carefully looked after in Game 2, not allowing him to easily control and coordinate the attack. Thanks to that, the Timberwolves repeatedly forced Denver into a point-starved state.
Long runs were continuously created by the away team right in the first half of the match, including a series of 20-3 points to increase the gap to 19 points midway through the second half, then increasing the score to 61-33 right before the break.
During this time, Jamal Murray continued to be “hungry for points”, which led to him losing his composure while sitting on the bench. The television angle showed the image of the Canadian PG throwing a hot bag onto the field as soon as he saw it. The match is still going on.
Video: Jamal Murray throws a hot pack onto the field while sitting on the bench
If there are no significant changes in strategy, the defending champion Denver Nuggets will likely become the former king in the next 2 or 3 matches.
The NBA’s decades-long history has seen 5 teams come back from losing the first 2 home games in a Playoffs series. Denver hopes they will become the 6th team with the current situation.
Game 3 of the Western semi-final series between Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves will take place at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 11.
