Timberwolves rally from 20-point deficit to knock off Denver, reach first West Finals since 2004 (2024)

DENVER — The Wolves were lying flat on the mat early in the third quarter of Game 7 on Sunday.

A Jamal Murray corner triple put the Nuggets up 20 in the second half.

If the script followed that of the first six games of the series, the Nuggets were onto the Western Conference finals. When someone landed a haymaker between these two teams, the opponent didn’t punch back.

But Minnesota decided not to throw in the towel. Instead, the Wolves got themselves off the mat and fought — and they won, rallying for a 98-90 Game 7 victory.

Minnesota closed the quarter on a 28-9 run to trim the deficit to one heading to the fourth, and the Wolves imposed their will over the final frame to extend their season and advance to the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.

Game 1 against Dallas is set for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. CDT at Target Center.

To be the champs, you have to beat the champs — and the Wolves just did the latter in emphatic fashion.

It’s the first time Minnesota has reached this round since 2004, when the Wolves also survived a thrilling Game 7, bouncing the Sacramento Kings at Target Center. On that night, it was Kevin Garnett almost solely powering Minnesota to unchartered territory with perhaps the greatest individual performance in Timberwolves history.

Sunday was not that — Sunday was a story of the collective.

Anthony Edwards was far from elite on Sunday. The Nuggets paid him loads of defensive attention, and the 22-year-old rarely found the bottom of the net.

But Karl-Anthony Towns had an awesome game on both ends, making life difficult for Nikola Jokic while playing efficient, aggressive offense. He finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, including the game-sealing putback in the closing minute.

Jaden McDaniels put together his second straight strong offensive performance, tallying 23 points on the strength of three made triples.

Naz Reid carried Minnesota home in the fourth. With the Wolves leading by three, on back to back possessions Reid put back misses, including an emphatic slam off another Edwards miss. Then, in transition, Reid made the right play on the run, kicking to Edwards, who finally cashed an open triple to put Minnesota up 10 with three minutes to play.

Game, set, series.

It took everyone for Minnesota to dig itself out of such a large hole Sunday evening. The Nuggets dominated play in all facets over the first 26 minutes. They were on point defensively, and dominated the glass.

The Timberwolves had 18 rebounds at the half — Nikola Jokic had 15.

The entire script was flipped in the second half. Denver missed a few open shots, and many of its players suddenly were rattled. The champs were backed into a corner and flinched.

And Minnesota pounced. The Wolves dug in defensively, forcing turnovers that led to fastbreak runouts that led to dicing the deficit in a rapid manner.

Denver couldn’t survive the onslaught.

Jokic was trying to fend off a pack of hungry Wolves on his own, as Murray — who scored 24 first-half points, only to then go cold when it mattered most — and Michael Porter Jr. failed to hit shots.

Down the stretch, Jokic would stand with the ball and no one would move, no one would cut, no one would come to the ball. They didn’t want to. Jokic finished with 34 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists. He finished with 14 points in the fourth quarter. No one else on his team tallied more than six.

Meanwhile, six separate Wolves players scored in the frame. And three players — McDaniels, Rudy Gobert and Reid, all had seven-plus points in the decisive frame.

Minnesota has caused many opponents all season to shrivel into the corner. That the Nuggets did so on their home floor after holding such a stunning advantage, though, is Minnesota’s grandest achievement to date.

It was a snapshot of who the Wolves have been all season, and is why the Wolves are now eight wins away from an NBA title.