-
Eom Young-mi-sook, ESPN writer
DENVER — With about 30 seconds left, reality began to set in and Nikola Jokic began congratulating his Minnesota Timberwolves players.
In 22 minutes, the Denver Nuggets’ effort to become champions fell apart in surprising fashion. The Nuggets blew a 20-point third quarter lead at home to drop Game 7 98-90.
The way they lost after taking a 58-38 lead at the 10:50 mark of the third quarter left the reigning champions shocked and incredibly frustrated. It was the largest lead in a Game 7 in 25 years.
“The season is over.” A frustrated Michael Malone told a press conference that Wolves players could be heard cheering through the walls in the locker room next door.
The abruptness of the end of the Nuggets’ repeat run has yet to be resolved.
When asked what went wrong, Malone said, “That’s the hard part.” “F— I turned 20. The season is over. It’s hard.”
After dropping the first two games of the series at home, Denver won the next three and appeared to be back in the championship. But the Nuggets squandered two opportunities to advance to their third Western Conference finals in five postseasons. Both times in shocking ways. They lost Game 6 in Minnesota by 45 points.
Then came the second half on Sunday. After Jamal Murray hit a 3, the Nuggets watched the Timberwolves take a 54-24 lead. When the game ended, Minnesota was up 92-82 with 3:07 remaining and had quieted down the raucous Ball Arena.
Jokic, a three-time MVP, had 34 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists, but missed 8 of 10 from behind the arc. Murray scored 24 of his 35 points in the first half, but was just 4-for-12 from 3-point range.
The Nuggets’ two big stars did not receive much help. Michael Porter Jr. missed 9 of 12 shots and scored 7 points, while Aaron Gordon, who has been outstanding this series in the Nuggets’ third straight win, finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Nuggets like Murray and Christian Braun felt Denver should win and advance, but Jokic said the Wolves were designed to beat them.
Tim Connelly has built the Nuggets into a championship contender as the franchise’s longtime president of basketball operations. Minnesota hired Connelly in 2022 and he traded for players like Rudy Gobert to put together a group that looks perfect to stop Denver.
In the second half, Jokic had to contend with Minnesota’s trio of big men – Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid – while the Nuggets had to contain Anthony Edwards on defense.
“I mean I think they are built to beat us,” Jokic said. “Look at their roster. They basically have two All-Stars, two who are probably first-team defensive players. Mike Conley is probably the most underrated player in the NBA.
“We have the Sixth Man of the Year on the bench. … (They’re) one team that can literally do it all. They can be big or small.”
When Connelly was asked about his blueprint for eliminating the champion in a hallway near the Nuggets locker room, the Wolves president of basketball operations was humble.
“I call it luck,” Connelly said.
Before the Nuggets began their offseason much earlier than expected, they reflected on how difficult it would be to defend a championship.
“It’s about summoning up the energy to fight mentally and physically as if you were being hunted,” Murray said. “I think it’s the emotion. If you’re a hunter, you’re a lot more motivated, you’re going to grab onto anything and have a constant chip on your shoulder to prove everyone wrong.
“I don’t know… I think we should have won tonight. That’s the hard part. They beat us, but we had so many good opportunities, including myself, that I’m just a tough guy.”
Jokic said that given all the talent in the league today, a team “has to be basically perfect to win.”
Malone knew how difficult it would be for the Nuggets, who had played until June of last year, to come back to secure the second seed and play their key players until the final game of the regular season.
“This is just a temporary delay,” Malone said. “It’s a failure, it’s not fatal. We’ll come back.
“The better team won, so I’m not taking anything away from Minnesota… but I think mentally, emotionally and physically the guys are gassed. They’re very tired. They’ve given everything I could ask for. So as much as it hurts, I will leave this building tonight with my head held high.”
