Minnesota put up a title-caliber fight Tuesday at Target Center with a short-handed team in the second half of a back-to-back, pushing the defending champions to the brink.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough, as future MVP Nikola Jokic and sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr. landed a few haymakers that ultimately knocked the Wolves out of Denver’s 115-112 victory in a crucial showdown in the Western Conference.
But you can’t thwart Minnesota’s efforts. Even down by eight points in the final two minutes Tuesday, the Wolves scratched and clawed until the end. The game ended with Anthony Edwards taking an open look from just beyond the arc at the horn that just hit the front iron.
The Wolves were without their three centers – Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid. They won a thriller Monday in Utah.
Denver was off Monday and was coming off a heartbreaking loss Sunday against Dallas.
Tuesday’s contest had all the makings of a Denver runaway.
And, in part, it seemed to be heading in that direction. Not that Minnesota played poorly in the first two quarters, but Denver’s size — with Jokic and Aaron Gordon — overwhelmed Minnesota, and Denver led 70-55 at the break.
But Anthony Edwards fueled another run in the third, scoring 14 points in the frame to put Minnesota back in front. By the end of the quarter, Denver was teaming up with the 22-year-old the second he touched the ball. It was the only way to put out his inferno that ignited the Target Center building and the team.
The underequipped Wolves were flying defensively and attacking confidently on the offensive end.
Edwards finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Jaden McDaniels had one of his best performances of the season, finishing with 26 points and six rebounds while serving as a defensive threat. Mike Conley scored 13 points, all in the fourth.
Everyone else played defensively, combating Denver’s size advantage with shear will and physicality. Everything about the performance reeked of the 2021-22 team and its style of play that has captured the hearts of basketball fans across the state.
Jokic had 35 points and 16 rebounds — and he hit some massive shots down the stretch — but the Wolves pissed off the world’s best player for much of the final two quarters.
In the end, it’s still a loss, which gives Denver a leg up in the Western Conference standings as Minnesota, Denver and Oklahoma City continue to jostle for the No. 1 seed at the approaching the playoffs.
But if Minnesota continues to play like it did on Tuesday, it will put itself in a good position when all wins are counted after 82 games.
