{"id":78120,"date":"2024-05-20T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T15:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=78120"},"modified":"2024-05-20T14:08:44","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T18:08:44","slug":"timberwolves-nuggets-game-7-showdown-makes-nba-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/20\/timberwolves-nuggets-game-7-showdown-makes-nba-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Timberwolves-Nuggets Game 7 Showdown Makes NBA History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After an exciting series against the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves are heading to the Western Conference Finals. It was a back and forth affair, the tug of war leading the two teams to a Game 7 showdown in Denver.<\/p>\n<h2>Timberwolves-Nuggets Game 7 Showdown Makes NBA History<\/h2>\n<p>Following their <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/17\/nikola-jokic-gets-candid-on-blowout-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">worst playoff loss in franchise history<\/a>, the Nuggets came out swinging, quickly gaining separation from the Wolves as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murraja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jamal Murray<\/a> came to life.<\/p>\n<p>Then facing a 15-point deficit at halftime, the Timberwolves completed the largest comeback in Game 7 history. In fact, they were behind as many as 20 points in the third quarter after Murray hit a 3 with 10 minutes remaining. However, finishing the game on a 60-32 run, Minnesota was able to take down the reigning champs and reach the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Timberwolves?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Timberwolves<\/a> trailed by 15 at halftime\u2014it&#8217;s the largest halftime deficit EVER overcome in a Game 7! \ud83e\udd2f<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NBA<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WolvesBack?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WolvesBack<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MTjLP6v4if\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/MTjLP6v4if<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bball_ref\/status\/1792382572338831743?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 20, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The previous record was held by the Golden State Warriors, who faced an 11-point halftime deficit in 1975 and 2018. The Warriors went on the win the NBA Finals in both seasons. Only time will tell if the Wolves will have the same fate. That said, in the superstitious world of sports, Golden State\u2019s previous success might inspire even more confidence in Minnesota\u2019s chances of lifting the Larry O\u2019Brien Trophy in June.<\/p>\n<h3>The Connelly Effect<\/h3>\n<p>After the game, Nuggets fulcrum <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jokic<\/a> said that the Timberwolves were \u201cbuilt to beat us.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#8220;I think they&#8217;re built to beat us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Nikola Jokic on if the Timberwolves could be rivals moving forward.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NBAPlayoffs<\/a> presented by Google Pixel <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xWuyXEEVB0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/xWuyXEEVB0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBA (@NBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1792414923865371091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 20, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Considering that Minnesota\u2019s Conference Finals-bound team was constructed by Tim Connelly, Jokic likely isn\u2019t far off the mark.<\/p>\n<p>Connelly was the primary architect of the Denver\u2019s title-winning team, leaving the organization the year before they won a championship. Having spent nine seasons with the Nuggets, he\u2019s as familiar with the ins-and-outs of the team than anyone, from Jokic to Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. Indeed, both Jokic and Malone were brought to Denver while Connelly was at the helm.<\/p>\n<h3>Three Keys<\/h3>\n<p>In facing the Nuggets, even the best laid plans may go to waste. However, there are three keys to defeating Denver: defense, discipline, and decision-making. In defeating the Nuggets, the Wolves relied on an aggressive and principled defensive strategy.<\/p>\n<p>Their switching, ball pressure, and constant contests kept Murray and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/portemi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Porter Jr.<\/a> in check. Jokic was elite with 29.0 points per game that series. However, he shot 51.7 percent from the field and 22.9 percent thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/townska01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Karl Anthony-Towns<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/reidna01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Naz Reid<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/goberru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rudy Gobert<\/a>. For reference, Jokic hasn\u2019t shot below 56 percent from the field in four seasons. He\u2019s never shot below 30 percent from 3.<\/p>\n<p>With that three-headed monster guarding the paint, Jokic also was less aggressive than usual. Just 16.4 percent of his field goal attempts were behind the 3-point line in the 2023-24 regular season. 23.2 percent of his shot attempts were 3s when he faced the Wolves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After an exciting series against the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves are heading to the Western Conference Finals. It was a back and forth affair, the tug of war leading the two teams to a Game 7 showdown in Denver. Timberwolves-Nuggets Game 7 Showdown Makes NBA History Following their worst playoff loss in franchise history, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":78129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,20,21,3],"tags":[109,213,1881,596,72,394],"class_list":["post-78120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-nuggets","category-timberwolves","category-news","tag-jamal-murray","tag-karl-anthony-towns","tag-naz-reid","tag-nba-playoffs","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-rudy-gobert"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}