NBA : Denvers fourth-quarter collapse hands Minnesota the win

The scoreboard flipped hard

The second game of the series needed a major tactical reset. Denver started well and backed up its game plan early. The Nuggets led by 19 in the second quarter (44-25). Nikola Jokic (24 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists) was pulling the strings. Jamal Murray (30 points, 7 rebounds) did his damage from the outside.

Then the whole thing turned in the next five minutes. Minnesota ripped off a 30-9 run and Anthony Edwards dropped 13 in that stretch. The lead swung Denver’s way again (55-53). A final home possession, capped by Jamal Murray’s heave from midcourt at the buzzer, left things tied at halftime (64-64).

Defense tightens up in the final period

After the break, everything got more physical and more cramped. Denver’s Serbian center took over with 16 points in the third quarter. Bones Hyland’s scoring burst (13 points) kept Minnesota close on the board (93-90).

The fourth quarter delivered the final twist. Minnesota went on a 10-2 burst, finished by a Donte DiVincenzo transition play (16 points), and forced coach David Adelman to stop the game (110-107). Rudy Gobert made his presence felt with three straight stops on Nikola Jokic. A finish at the rim from the French center pushed the margin to four (112-108). Christian Braun then missed at the free-throw line with 19 seconds left, and that was that. Denver’s 13-game winning streak was over (114-119).

The numbers told the story

Anthony Edwards was the headline act. The guard hit 30 points in the playoffs for the 16th time in his career. That total already tops the combined postseason scoring of every other player in franchise history.

Denver’s key men faded late. The Jokic-Murray duo had 50 points after 36 minutes, but finished on 54. Gobert and McDaniels made life miserable, limiting Jokic to 1 made shot in 7 attempts and Murray to 1 in 5 in the fourth quarter.

Free throws ended up deciding it. Minnesota had missed 10 in the first three quarters, then knocked down 6 of 7 in the last period to help force the series level.

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