Minnesota dismantles Denver to take 2-0 series lead | Locked On Sports Minnesota

The Minnesota Timberwolves are now up 2-0 over the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the NBA Playoffs.

Despite not having NBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate Rudy Gobert, the Minnesota Timberwolves played suffocating defense and took a commanding 2-0 lead in their series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 victory on Monday evening.

It was the lowest point total of the entire season for Denver and the second time in two NBA playoff games the Timberwolves held the Nuggets under 100 points.

“If I had to pick a theme tonight, no Rudy, no problem,” Locked On Sports Minnesota host Luke Inman exclaimed after the game. “There were times it looked like the varsity vs the JV squad. Wolves [played] absolutely suffocating defense as they drove Denver nuts all night long.”

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Minnesota has overwhelmingly looked like the better team through the first two games of the series. The team’s suffocating defense held guard Jamal Murray to zero halftime points, while Nikola Jokic had just eight.

Superstar guard Anthony Edwards followed up his 43 point performance in Game 1 with 27 points and seven assists in Game 2, which helped lead the Wolves to a 61-35 halftime lead and allowed them to coast in the second half.

“They really just stuck with their gameplan,” Locked On Sports Minnesota co-host Jack Borman added. “They really sold out to take away the Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic pick and roll, and they let Aaron Gordon do pretty much whatever he wanted…the Timberwolves were incredible from start to finish on the defensive end of the floor.”

Denver will look to regroup after shooting under 35% from the field and committing 16 turnovers on Monday. They’ll have to find a way to win at least once in Minnesota if they want to play another game at home, and they’ll now have to do it with Gobert back in the mix after he missed Monday’s game for the birth of his child.

Game 3 will take place on Friday, May 10 in Minnesota. Tip is scheduled for 9:30 PM ET.

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