The defending champion Denver Nuggets were not only unable to secure their home field, but they also failed to capitalize on Rudy Gobert’s absence in Game 2 and ended up losing another blowout match to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Not long before Game 2 of the Western semi-final series of the 2024 NBA Playoffs took place, the Minnesota Timberwolves announced that they would be playing without Rudy Gobert, a player who was a contender for the award of Defensive Player of the Year.
It was necessary for Rudy Gobert to go back to his hometown in order to give birth to his first kid with his family. This circumstance provided the Denver Nuggets, the reigning champions, with the opportunity to reclaim their sense of triumph. Nevertheless, not only did they miss out on that opportunity, but Nikola Jokic and the other members of his team also played a weak match.
Following their victory in Game 1, the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to “steal” another victory from the Denver Nuggets, who were the reigning champions, on the court in Game 2.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were able to keep the Denver Nuggets under control from the very beginning of the game, despite the fact that they were facing the challenge of playing away from home and without the club’s most prominent defensive guru.
The difference in the match nearly reached 30 points at one point until the “Wolves” won the final blowout with a score of 106-80, establishing a shocking 2-0 lead over the team that was defending their title as NBA champions.
As of right now, the Minnesota Timberwolves have the ability to remove the Denver Nuggets from the 2024 NBA Playoffs by winning their next two matches at home, which are scheduled to take place on May 11 and May 13.
Leading 2-0 with 2 away wins, the Minnesota Timberwolves will have home field advantage in Games 3 and 4, where they can “finish” the opponent.
Anthony Edwards continues to play the role of Minnesota’s top star, increasingly looking like a “little Michael Jordan” playing in 2024. Edwards scored 27 points with 7 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals for the Timberwolves in Game 2.
Next to “Ant-man” is Karl-Anthony Towns, owner of 27 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks. Sixth Man of The Year titleholder Naz Reid stepped into the role of main center to replace Rudy Gobert, bagging 14 points with 4 blocks and 5 rebounds.
On the Denver Nuggets side, Aaron Gordon scored the most points with 20 PTS, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal. Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists (5-13 FG). The third highest scorer on the team is Justin Holiday with 13 points. Jamal Murray only had 8 points today with 3-18 FG (0-4 3PT).
Even without center forward Rudy Gobert protecting the area near the basket in Game 2, the Minnesota Timberwolves were still able to disrupt the Denver Nuggets’ offensive tempo with a series of situations that closed in on the ball carrier right from the middle of the field.
Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., who could untie the knot for Denver in the first round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, now constantly have to face the Timberwolves’ annoying defense.
Nikola Jokic was also carefully looked after in Game 2, not allowing him to easily control and coordinate the attack. Thanks to that, the Timberwolves repeatedly forced Denver into a point-starved state.
Long runs were continuously created by the away team right in the first half of the match, including a series of 20-3 points to increase the gap to 19 points midway through the second half, then increasing the score to 61-33 right before the break.
During this time, Jamal Murray continued to be “hungry for points”, which led to him losing his composure while sitting on the bench. The television angle showed the image of the Canadian PG throwing a hot bag onto the field right after the match. The match is still going on.
If there are no significant changes in strategy, the defending champion Denver Nuggets will likely become the former king in the next 2 or 3 matches.
The NBA’s decades-long history has seen 5 teams come back from losing the first 2 home games in a Playoffs series. Denver hopes they will become the 6th team with the current situation.
Game 3 of the Western semi-final series between Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves will take place at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 11.
