Nuggets’ supporting cast kept quiet in 20-point home loss to red-hot Timberwolves

If the memory of Game 7 is ever expunged from the halls of Ball Arena, it won’t be any time soon.

Visiting Denver for the first time since their 20-point comeback in a winner-take-all playoff game, the Minnesota Timberwolves picked up where they left off, jumping their hosts from opening tip and handing the Nuggets a 115-95 loss Wednesday.

Denver (42-24) has lost five straight to Minnesota dating back to Game 6 of the 2024 second-round series. One regular-season meeting remains, back at Ball Arena on April 1.

A playoff collision for the third consecutive year is plausible in the first round.

These Wolves are different. Karl-Anthony Towns has been exchanged for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. But some things are the same. Like the blowtorch cockiness of Anthony Edwards, who played through a slow start until the Nuggets were taking turns getting cooked by him in the third quarter.

Or the destabilizing pressure applied to Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and the rest of Denver’s supporting cast, which couldn’t hang Wednesday. Murray was held to 12 points on 4 of 15 shooting. He didn’t make a field goal until the second half. Porter went for 10 points, going 3 for 10 from the floor.

Edwards posted 29 points and six assists. Randle, whose recent play has mirrored his team’s, amassed 25 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals on a 9-for-12 shooting night.

Nikola Jokic stayed on the floor until Michael Malone was out of hope in the fourth quarter. He finished with 34 points, eight boards, four assists and not much help. Russell Westbrook was Denver’s second-best scorer with 19 points, though he also turned it over four times.

“Minnesota has given us trouble,” Malone acknowledged pregame. “They beat us three times in our building last year. We’re down 0-2 to them this year. So tonight is an opportunity to try to right the ship and get a win in front of our home crowd.”

Familiarity has been an enemy in this matchup. The Timberwolves defend Murray, Porter and company with assuredness. The Nuggets attack with tentativeness.

They didn’t score until their ninth possession. They needed until the 7:15 mark of the first quarter to make their first bucket in the halfcourt offense. Until then, all they had was a Westbrook layup thanks to a breakdown in transition defense and a pair of free throws.

Jokic was hesitant to shoot the open three that Rudy Gobert was giving him at first. After scoring 35 points Monday in Oklahoma City, he had referred to his bruised elbow as the reason he rarely used his jumper in the win, instead doing “everything around the rim.” His comfort level with the injury was always going to be important against Minnesota; Gobert is a celebrated rim protector who’s best suited playing down the floor.

On one baffling early possession, Jokic passed up an opportunity at the top of the key to swing the ball to Westbrook, who missed a low-percentage midrange shot. But slowly, the big man started shooting through it. It wasn’t always pretty. His touch was completely lacking on a handful of misses, including a rare airball. But it was necessary. Jokic eventually knocked a couple down while nobody else could.

The Nuggets shot 7 for 30 from outside as a team. The Wolves were 43%. They also dominated the glass, winning the rebound battle 61-49 and outscoring Denver 29-11 on second chances.