“Never underestimate the heart of a champion!” “. The legendary sentence pronounced by Rudy Tomjanovich is more relevant than ever 29 years later as the Nuggets, trailing 2-0 against Minnesota, managed to equalize at 2-2 by going for two away games to resume home field advantage in the series. After the Game 3 demonstration, Mike Malone's troops once again delivered a breathtaking performance to defeat the Wolves for a second time in a row on their floor!
Minnesota was able to ignite the game to revive after its non-match in Game 3. Leading the charge, Anthony Edwards quickly took responsibility with three baskets in quick succession to put his team on the right path (15-9) , before Naz Reid's 3-pointer (20-13). Well off to a good start, the Wolves however saw the tide turn very quickly in favor of the Nuggets, from the end of the first quarter with a resounding 14-2, fueled by two 3-point arrows from Reggie Jackson and concluded with a delight basket at the buzzer from Nikol Jokic (24-29).
The Towns-Gobert duo in difficulty
Minnesota was not at the end of its troubles after Karl-Anthony Towns' 0/7 and Rudy Gobert's zero points after 12 minutes. The Nuggets started the second quarter with a 12-2 lead with two 3-point baskets from Justin Holiday (26-41), then it was the Murray-Gordon-Jokic trio who took the measure of the locals, between the flashes of genius of the Serb, in scoring or passing thanks to his vision of the game, the authoritarian finishes of the former position 4 of the Magic, until the basket coming from nowhere by Jamal Murray at the last second of the break from his half (49-64). A breathtaking and worrying show of force for Minnesota…
The locals were not unworthy after returning from the locker room, like the repeated exploits of Anthony Edwards, without forgetting the 3-pointers of Mike Conley, Karl-Anthony Towns or the dunk with the foul of Rudy Gobert. But the Nuggets seemed to have the answer every time to maintain the lead. Even when Nikola Jokic conceded his fourth foul, no one panicked, relying on the outside skill of Jamal Murray and his lieutenants to stay at a good distance, despite Minnesota's 6-0 to finish the third quarter under the leadership of Anthony Edwards, again author of a gliding flight to finish at the circle and maintain a semblance of hope (79-90).
Nikola Jokic marked the start of the fourth quarter for his return with a 2+1, a 3-pointer and two shots to respond to the Towns-Gobert doublet (85-98). Until the end, the big shots were scored by the Nuggets players, between Christian Braun's 3-pointer, Aaron Gordon's basket at the end of the possession, or Nikola Jokic's two floaters to keep his team at +10 4 minutes from time (97-107).
To Jaden McDaniels' 3-pointer then Anthony Edwards' lay-up, Nikola Jokic responded with two new baskets near the circle, facilitated by his exceptional basketball IQ, in order to seal the fate of the match, won 115-107 .
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Joker wasn’t laughing. With Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic was the great architect of this new away success, carrying his team on his shoulders at the end of the first quarter in particular to erase a slightly timid start. But what can we say about his breathtaking finale, controlled with his 4 fouls above his head, which allowed Denver to finish the match almost without trembling to equalize. Author of 16 of his 35 points in the last quarter, the Serb will have delivered a recital of basketball IQ, with the vision of the game which makes him the unique player that he is, as if he was playing, seeing, every action one step ahead.
– A catastrophic finale for Rudy Gobert. Not really given confidence by his teammates, as evidenced by his number of shots taken (5) while he sometimes found himself in a preferential position at the low post, the French pivot multiplied the errors which precipitated the fall of the Wolves in the “money-time”, between his two offensive errors, his market and his 0/2 on free throws at the worst time, while his team was struggling to get closer to the defending champion in scoring. For once, the DPOY took a lesson from triple MVP Nikola Jokic, even if the former Cholet player is by far the only one responsible for this new failure…
– Aaron Gordon again in all the good moves. As in the last NBA Finals, Aaron Gordon was once again an impeccable lieutenant, impressive with his commitment but also his accuracy and finally his efficiency. The Denver power forward was in fact at 10/10 shooting including 2/2 at 3-points 5 minutes from the end to finish with a new convincing stats line: 27 points at 11/12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks. The “difference maker” par excellence…
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
