Short-handed Timberwolves finish off Nuggets, will face Spurs in Western Conference semifinals

The Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t need to be 100% to finish off the Denver Nuggets.

Despite missing their starting backcourt and more, the T-Wolves beat Denver 110-98 in Game 6 on Thursday to end their first-round series. They will face the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.

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Minnesota certainly had to earn it. No team led by double-digits until the final minute of the game, which was also the sort where home-court advantage seemed to make a difference at Target Center.

Anthony Edwards’ absence could have loomed large in crunch time, but then Jaden McDaniels stepped up. There might not have been a more impactful player on the floor than McDaniels, who finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 0 turnovers while persistently bothering the Nuggets on defense.

All of Minnesota’s top remaining players similarly performed as needed. Rudy Gobert had 10 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists while navigating Nikola Jokić duties. Terrence Shannon Jr. had a breakout game with 24 points. Julius Randle had 18 points and 5 assists.

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Overcoming the Spurs will be a taller task, especially if Edwards can’t return during the series. No one in the building cared about that on Thursday, though, as Minnesota was at least able to make a memorable statement in its rivalry with Denver.

The Timberwolves built their backcourt on the fly

Both teams entered the game notably short-handed, the Timberwolves moreso. They were already down Edwards and starting guard Donte DiVincenzo for the rest of the series and beyond, but then had to rule out Ayo Dosunmu — who had been filling the gap left by those injuries — with a calf injury. Kyle Anderson also sat out the game with an illness.

The Nuggets were missing Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson, but Minnesota had far more to figure out Thursday. It’s backcourt was a full “next man up.”

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Shannon had previously played 21 minutes all series, and got 34 minutes in Game 6, which was also his first career playoff start. Jaylen Clark didn’t appear in the series until his 11 minutes in Game 5, then got 12 in Game 6. Mike Conley Jr. got 26…

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Author : Jack Baer

Publish date : 2026-05-01 04:22:00

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