We will have a new NBA champion in 2024.
In Game 7 in Denver on Sunday evening, the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame a 58-38 deficit to complete a monster comeback, propelling them into the Western Conference Finals and sending the reigning champion Denver Nuggets home in a 98-90 victory. The Timberwolves outscored the Nuggets 60-37 in the second half.
It will be the Timberwolves’ first Western Conference Finals appearance in 20 years, when league MVP Kevin Garnett led them there in 2004.
On Sunday, it wasn’t star guard Anthony Edwards, but rather the collective efforts of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid. Edwards, to his credit, stepped up in the second half - particularly the fourth quarter - a clutch corner three ball putting the Timberwolves up 92-82 with 3:05 remaining in the game.
Edwards was just 6-for-24 from the field, but made timely plays down the stretch on both ends, while Towns, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds, played a starring role as did Jaden McDaniels and, off the bench, Reid, who scored 11 in 22 minutes. Gobert was also critical, getting rebounds and producing hustle plays. Mike Conley, the resident vet of the otherwise youth group, also made key plays. Conley was 3-for-10 but hit three of his five long distance tries.
While the victory for the Timberwolves brings a jubilant feeling to a franchise that has not had much to hope for in the past 20 seasons, the loss for the defending champion Nuggets, at home no less, is disappointing but one that is not so unfamiliar to the league as of late. The last repeat champion was the 2017 and 2018 Golden State Warriors, as parity has ruled for the better part of a decade (the last repeat prior to that was the 2012 and 2013 Miami Heat championships).
Nikola Jokic (34 points, 19 rebounds, 7 assists), played a very good game but he and Jamal Murray (35 points) combined to go just 6-for-22 from three-point range. The Nuggets, shorthanded as they are without great depth on their roster, did not get a quality performance from Michael Porter Jr. when they needed it. The forward was just 3-for-12, including 1-for-6 from three. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was 2-for-7.
The Timberwolves leaned on their exceptional defense, holding the Nuggets to just 41 percent shooting, themselves shooting just 39.2 percent. They did however make two more triples than the Nuggets (10 to 8), and held a slight rebounding edge (44-41). They also committed just seven turnovers while the Nuggets committed 10.
The Timberwolves now face the Dallas Mavericks for a chance at an NBA Finals berth, both teams young and wanting to prove themselves. With Towns, Gobert, and Reid, the Timberwolves hold a decisive advantage inside, while their defense will be a challenge for Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic. It should be a great series.
In the other Game 7 on Sunday, the Indiana Pacers rolled over an undermanned New York Knick team, 130-109, winning back-to-back games to take the series. All five starters finished in double figures, with Tyrese Haliburton leading the way with 26 points. The Knicks were led by Donte DiVincenzo’s 39 points, the guard taking the scoring reigns from Jalen Brunson, who exited the game in the second half with a fractured left hand and did not return.
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