Nuggets have lost 5 straight to Timberwolves, dating back to playoffs: “All the 5, they beat us pretty easy”

Ball Arena is becoming Anthony Edwards‘ second-favorite venue in the NBA, after his own. It’s in the mannerisms. The hop in his step. The made-for-TV grin. The showboating gestures directed at Denver’s bench when he cashes a 3-pointer.

Edwards and his teammates feel at home here, and the Nuggets seem to be at a loss to prevent it. The environmental hostility of playing at altitude doesn’t even seem to apply to the Timberwolves, who stole three playoff games in Denver last season and ambushed the Nuggets in their house again on Wednesday.

“I felt that we were really tired tonight. And I don’t know if that back-to-back in OKC, the emotions of that, everything we put into that (affected us), but it just felt that we were a step slow,” coach Michael Malone said after Denver’s 115-95 loss, putting reasonable context to a poorly played game. “And that’s understandable. That’s what I was telling myself. You look at what I’ve been asking, especially our players as of late. That’s a lot.”

For a team as good as the Nuggets (42-24), losing by 20 at home will always take a combination of factors. But increasingly difficult to ignore among them is Minnesota’s recent foothold on this matchup. Denver has lost five consecutive games to its division foe, dating back to Game 6 of an emotionally charged seven-game playoff series last year.

“All the five,” Nikola Jokic said, “they beat us pretty easy.”

Not exactly accurate, but notable that it feels that way to him. Rarely, if ever, has a team truly had Denver’s number in recent years, at the height of Jokic’s power. The Nuggets have had the Lakers’ number. They’ve had the Warriors’ number.

Minnesota has theirs right now.

“We need to do a better job of, I don’t know what. But it seems like we are not playing good against them,” Jokic said. “Or maybe they don’t let us play good against them.”

“I would never say that this is a pride thing,” Malone said. “Is that disappointing that we’re down 3-0 (this season) to them? Is it disappointing that they beat us three times on our home court last year in the playoffs? Yeah, of course. That stings. That hurts.”

Rosters have turned over during the head-to-head losing streak. Certain patterns haven’t. Even without Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota’s size remains disconcerting to the Nuggets, especially without Aaron Gordon. They were outscored 29-12 on the offensive glass.

The Wolves found success in the playoffs assigning Edwards to guard Jamal Murray and Jaden McDaniels to defend Michael Porter Jr. — “two really good defensive players,” as Malone recognized.

Denver’s second and third options combined for 22 points and a 7-for-25 shooting night in the latest chapter of those matchups. Russell Westbrook spotted them in the first half, but he tailed off eventually. Jokic’s 34 points were rendered meaningless without a consistent supplementary source of offense.

Porter was especially hard on himself after his ineffective series in 2024. He was a team-worst minus-31 on Wednesday. Malone still refused to give credence to the notion that this is irremediably a bad matchup for the sharpshooter.

“We’ll never just accept it and say, ‘Hey, sorry Mike, tonight, this is just not your team.’ I would never say that as a head coach. His teammates would never say that. And Michael would never say that,” Malone said. “We’re not going to give in to that. … We can definitely find ways to get Michael better looks, screen better, get him open, get him separation, get him into some two-man game with Nikola maybe, where he can use his size and length and be more effective. But that’s not just on him. That’s on myself and the rest of the guys.”

At the other end, Edwards played through a slow start until Denver’s best defenders were taking turns getting blowtorched by him in the third quarter. He buried a stepback 3-pointer with Christian Braun in his face. He pulled up for a pick-and-roll three while Peyton Watson tried to play catch-up around the screen. He broiled Zeke Nnaji with crossovers on his way to a driving layup. And he blew by Watson for another easy bucket at the rim, for good measure.

Asked afterward if his team feels particular confidence or energy when facing the Nuggets, Edwards shrugged.

“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, of course. Because it’s kind of like a rivalry, I’d say.”

Rivalry or not, the Nuggets have one more chance to avoid a series sweep when Ant & Co. visit again on April 1. Until then, allegations of a bad matchup will be difficult to shake. The Wolves have outscored Denver by 43 points in the last six quarters played between them at Ball Arena, where the Nuggets played host and victim to a 20-point Game 7 comeback. It haunts them. It probably always will.

But there will be other chances for revenge. Maybe even in the playoffs. These teams have already traded blows the last two years. As of Thursday, Denver was in a holding pattern between second and third place in the West. Minnesota was in limbo between sixth and seventh.

Maybe they’re destined to do this forever.

“When someone beats you so many times in a row, it’s something you need to figure it out,” Jokic said. “You need to think about it.”