Sports Writing (United States), April 17. The Denver Nuggets, the best team in the Western Conference in the regular season, left the Minnesota Timberwolves no option in the first game of their playoff series (109-80).
In a day full of surprises in the NBA with away victories by the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers, Nikola Jokic’s side secured a victory of authority and power against the Wolves (eighth in the ‘West) unanswered.
Up +32 in the final quarter came the Nuggets led by Jamal Murray with 24 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
Jokic contributed 13 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists in just 28 minutes on the court as he was sent off for a foul by a Nuggets with six 10-plus players who sealed the game with a resounding 32-14 in the third period.
Anthony Edwards, with 18 points, was the top scorer for some Wolves with a very wide crosshair (37% from the field, 30.6% from three-pointers, 56.3% from the personal line).
Minnesota also lost the rebound battle to Denver resoundingly (48-65).
Dominican Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 10 rebounds with Gray 5 of 15 shooting from the field (1 of 7 in triples).
The second game of this meeting will also be played on Wednesday in Denver. ECE
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