After a crushing victory in match N.6 (115-70), the Wolves this time achieved an impressive comeback, overcoming the largest point deficit at half-time of a match N.7 in the NBA history, when the Nuggets led by 15 points. “I think our composure was the biggest thing,” Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards said. “We were very calm throughout the match.”
The Timberwolves trailed by as many as 20 points early in the third quarter, but they managed to regain their rhythm and cut the deficit to one point before the final quarter. Edwards, who scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, said coach Chris Finch asked him at halftime to “play faster.”
Six players from the Minneapolis franchise scored at least ten points. Karl-Anthony Towns was the top scorer with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Jaden McDaniels added 21 units and the best defender of the regular season, Frenchman Rudy Gobert, scored 13 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.
On the Denver side, regular season MVP Nikola Jokic gave everything with an authoritarian double-double of 34 points and 19 rebounds, while point guard Jamal Murray led the Nuggets in scoring, with 35 points. But that wasn’t enough against Minnesota, which returned to the conference finals for the first time since 2004.
Earlier in the day, on the legendary floor of Madison Square Garden in New York, Indiana set a record for efficiency, with 67.1% shooting success, quite simply the best percentage in the history of the play-offs of the NBA. The teammates of Tyrese Haliburton (26 pts) and Pascal Siakam (20 pts) more than did the job offensively, with six players scoring at least 12 points.
Ending the first period with a 15-point lead (70-55) after returning 76.3% of their shots, the Pacers posted the best success rate over two quarters of a play-off match during of the last 25 years. “Nobody expected us to win those games,” Haliburton said after the game, with the Pacers trailing 0-2 and 2-3 in the series. “We just played with freedom and had fun.” Indiana, which collected only its second away success in these play-offs, took advantage of injuries hitting the Knicks already deprived of Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic.
And even the New Yorkers were able to count on the returns of OG Anunoby (left hamstring) and Josh Hart (abdominals), they lost their leader and best player Jalen Brunson (17 pts) at the start of the last quarter. ), who fractured his left hand. Donte DiVincenzo took over for the Knicks, hitting nine shots for a total of 39 points. Insufficient.