After losing twice at home, the Nuggets were galvanized by so many national pundits shoveling dirt onto their grave and taking pot shots at Nikola Jokic after his awkwardly timed third MVP award. They responded by pummeling the Timberwolves twice in Minneapolis to knot the series heading into Tuesday night’s Game 5 at Ball Arena.
Now the pressure shifts to Minnesota who know they need to win again in Denver.
“This is a series. We won two games, but we didn’t think it was going to be easy,” Anthony Edwards said after dropping 44 points in another spectacular playoff performance. Unfortunately for Edwards and the Wolves, he didn't get much help.
The three off days between Games 2 and 3 did the Wolves no good, yielding a 27-point defeat after which coach Chris Finch declared them feeling “fat and lazy” after all the fawning near and far for their performance in Denver. They played better in Game 4 but it wasn't enough.
“We came up here trying to get two. We got that. We have home court back,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after Denver’s 115-107 win on Sunday night. “We have to go home and protect our home court. We can’t allow them to get a third win at Ball Arena, and that’s a message to our fans, to come out and make that place just an absolute zoo.”
The Nuggets sure silenced the crowd in Minneapolis.
“I love when people count us out. It’s as simple as that,” Aaron Gordon said after scoring 27 points Sunday night. “A lot of these guys on this team, they’ve been counted out before and been the underdogs and the dark horse in their career before, so they’ve operated from that space before.”
There's one more thing to keep an eye on ahead of Game 5. Timberwolves point guard and veteran leader Mike Conway has now hit the injury report with "Achilles soreness." His status is listed as questionable.
GAME 5 PREVIEW
Minnesota Timberwolves (56-26, third in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (57-25, second in the Western Conference); Denver; Tuesday, 9:30 p.m.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Nuggets -4.5; over/under is 207
WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Series tied 2-2
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Timberwolves visit the Denver Nuggets for game five of the Western Conference second round with the series tied 2-2. The Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 115-107 in the last meeting. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 35 points, and Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 44 points.
The Nuggets are 33-19 in conference play. Denver ranks second in the Western Conference in team defense, allowing only 109.6 points while holding opponents to 46.2% shooting.
The Timberwolves are 12-4 against Northwest Division teams. Minnesota scores 113.0 points and has outscored opponents by 6.5 points per game.
The Nuggets make 49.6% of their shots from the field this season, which is 4.6 percentage points higher than the Timberwolves have allowed to their opponents (45.0%). The Timberwolves average 12.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.4 more made shots on average than the 11.2 per game the Nuggets allow.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jokic is shooting 58.3% and averaging 26.4 points for the Nuggets. Michael Porter Jr. is averaging 3.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Edwards is scoring 25.9 points per game and averaging 5.4 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Mike Conley is averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 108.0 points, 43.9 rebounds, 26.5 assists, 7.5 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 47.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.2 points per game.
Timberwolves: 7-3, averaging 109.7 points, 42.3 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 7.0 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 48.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.5 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Vlatko Cancar: out (knee), Reggie Jackson: day to day (calf), Jamal Murray: day to day (calf), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: day to day (abdominal).
Timberwolves: Michael Conley Jr: questionable (Achilles soreness)Jaylen Clark: out (Achilles), Rudy Gobert: day to day (personal).
The Associated Press contributed to this story.