Minnesota came out sharp and aggressive, scoring 33 points in the opening quarter and briefly making the afternoon look uncomfortable for Denver. That changed quickly. The Nuggets answered with a 39-point second quarter, followed it with a 29-17 edge in the third, and turned the opener into the kind of game they usually prefer: slower, more physical, and built around execution.
Jamal Murray led the way with 30 points and kept pressure on the game all afternoon, especially at the foul line. He finished a perfect 16-for-16 there, which gave Denver a steady source of offense even when the jump shooting came and went. Nikola Jokic handled the rest, finishing with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists while shaping the game possession by possession.
Minnesota actually shot better from the field and from three. The Timberwolves finished at 46 percent overall and 32 percent from deep, while Denver shot 44 percent overall and 28 percent from three. The difference came in the margins that decide playoff games. Denver got to the line repeatedly, made 30 free throws, won the rebounding battle 47-43, and did enough in the middle quarters to make Minnesota play from behind the rest of the way.
Once Denver got the game into its half-court rhythm, the Wolves had a harder time dictating terms. Jokic kept bending the defense, Murray kept drawing contact and making difficult shots, and the Nuggets found enough secondary support to keep the pressure on. It was not a blazing offensive show. It was a controlled playoff win.
Anthony Edwards finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, and Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Julius Randle scored 15, and the Timberwolves had enough individual production to stay within reach for most of the day. What they could not do was sustain their early rhythm once Denver tightened the game.
That was the real story of the afternoon. Minnesota started fast, but Denver looked steadier once the series settled into the kind of possession-by-possession game playoff openers often become. The Nuggets did not need to overwhelm the Timberwolves. They just needed to control the important stretches, and they did.
This looked like a team that understood how to recover from an early hit without losing the shape of the game. Denver gave up the first quarter, then answered with patience, free-throw pressure, rebounding, and the usual Jokic-Murray command. Anthony Edwards decided to take 9 three-pointers in the game, accounting for almost half of his shots (19 shots total). His horrible shot selection let Denver's D off the hook.
