MINNESOTA Timberwolves leaned on a huge endgame run to stun Denver Nuggets, 106-99, in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference first round playoffs on Saturday night (Sunday in the Philippines) at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Holding to a slim 94-91 lead, the Nuggets went on an 8-0 scoring run behind Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards to establish a 102-91 victory with over a minute left.
The Nuggets made its last push on five straight points by Nikola Jokić, but two free throws and a basket by Edwards secured the victory for the Timberwolves.
Edwards led the way with 43 points and seven rebounds, Karl-Anthony Towns added 20 markers, while Naz Reid and Mike Conley ended with 16 and 14, respectively, as the Timberwolves took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Jokić finished with 32 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds, while Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray added 20 and 17 points, respectively, for the Nuggets.
Meanwhile, Dallas Mavericks moved on to the second round of Western Conference playoffs after a 114-101 win over Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
From a 52-all score at the half, the Mavericks kicked off the third period with an 11-2 run behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving en route to an 87-72 lead.
The Mavericks pulled away further in the final quarter with consecutive points from Irving as the lead reached it largest at 100-78 with seven minutes left in the game.
Irving finished with 30 points, Doncic added a double-double of 28 points and 13 rebounds, while PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively II contributed 14, 13, and 10, respectively, for Dallas.
Orlando Magic, on the other hand, for a do-or-die Game 7 with a 103-96 beating of Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6. Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 27 points to go with eight assists and four rebounds./PN
BOX SCORE:
MINNESOTA 106 — Edwards 43, Towns 20, Reid 16, Conley 14, Gobert 6, Alexander-Walker 5, Anderson 2, McDaniels 0, Morris 0.
DENVER 99 — Jokić 32, Porter 20, Murray 17, Gordon 9, Braun 7, Caldwell-Pope 6, Jackson 5, Holiday 3, Watson 0.
Quarterscores: 23-25, 40-44, 73-71, 106-99.
