Nuggets-Timberwolves takeaways: Jaden McDaniels backs up his talk, as Minnesota dominates Game 3 with defense

This wasn’t close. With the Denver Nuggets missing Aaron Gordon with a calf injury, the Minnesota Timberwolves jumped out to a 25-11 first-quarter lead in Game 3 and never looked back. The Wolves came away with a 113-96 victory and a 2-1 series lead behind a team effort and a dominating defensive performance that included holding Nikola Jokić to 27 points on 7-for-26 shooting.

Let’s get to some takeaways.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves defended

The Nuggets led the NBA this season in points per game (122.1 PPG). The Nuggets led the NBA this season in offensive rating (121.2). The Nuggets scored 96 points in Game 3.

Minnesota pressured and sped up the Nuggets right from the jump. By the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets were 3 for 21 from the field (1 of 9 from 3). Active ball pressure bogged the Nuggets’ attack down, physicality disrupted their off-ball movement. The Wolves flew around all night long to keep the Nuggets in a box. Denver had only 12 assists as a team in Game 3. For comparison, Jokić averaged 10.7 a night in the regular season.

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Rudy Gobert protected the paint and contested versus Jokić. Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo hounded Jamal Murray. Denver’s dynamic duo combined to shoot 12-for-43, a credit to the Wolves’ game plan and execution.

Ayo, look at this team effort

If you wondered what the ceiling was for Minnesota after it added Ayo Dosunmu at the trade deadline, it was on display in Game 3. His ability to defend and attack in transition always jumped off the page, but on Thursday night we saw a command within what Minnesota wanted to do. His drives were consistent, his paint touches were important and his ability to punish Denver’s defense was key. He and DiVincenzo allowed the Wolves to find a flow in the second quarter.

Think about this: Anthony Edwards played only 23 minutes, with eight of those coming in the second half, and I did not feel that until typing this very sentence. That was the impact of the team effort from Minnesota.

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McDaniels set the tone with his Game 2 postgame comments. It’s one thing to talk the talk, it’s another…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nuggets-timberwolves-takeaways-jaden-mcdaniels-backs-up-his-talk-as-minnesota-dominates-game-3-with-defense-052016505.html

Author : Steve Jones

Publish date : 2026-04-24 05:20:00

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