Basketball defending champions out
Minnesota celebrates the biggest comeback in NBA play-off history
As of: 12:37 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
MVP Jokic (M.) is behind and can’t stop the Timberwolvers’ race to catch up
Quelle: Getty Images via AFP/C. MORGAN ENGEL
The reigning NBA champions fail in the quarterfinals of the NBA play-offs. The Denver Nuggets lose game seven against the Minnesota Timberwolves and give up a huge lead in the process. Superstar Nikola Jokic’s energy output is also not enough.
Even a 20-point lead was not enough for the defending champion Denver Nuggets to advance to the next round of the NBA playoffs. Last season’s champions lost 90:98 to the Minnesota Timberwolves and missed out on a place in the Western Conference finals. Superstar Nikola Jokic’s team was still ahead 58:38 in the third quarter, but then Denver lost control and had no real chance of winning in the final minutes. The season is now over for the Serbian who was voted MVP of the main round; the Timberwolves will meet the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals.
“The commitment was there. Our offense just didn’t work in the first half. “We simplified everything a little bit,” said Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. “We didn’t throw particularly well, but even when we were behind, our defense was always there. And then in the third quarter we just got hot.” In the third quarter the guests had a 28:9 run.
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At halftime the team was still behind by 15 points; according to US media, there has never been a bigger comeback in a seventh game in the NBA playoffs.
34 points from NBA star Jokic are not enough
Jokic scored 34 points, Jamal Murray scored 35 points, but the Nuggets seemed helpless at the end of the game and were no longer able to assert themselves in the decisive scenes. On the Timberwolves side, young star Anthony Edwards didn’t have his best night with just 16 points, but he received enough support from his teammates. Jaden McDaniels and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 23 points. The Timberwolves were too good for the defending champions in the final quarter, especially on defense. Jokic played 47 of 48 minutes and was noticeably exhausted.
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In a maximum of seven games it’s all about getting into the NBA Finals. The first two games of the series between the Mavericks and the Timberwolves will be played in Minneapolis. The Indiana Pacers face the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference. The first game takes place on Wednesday night in Boston in Germany. In their seventh game, the Pacers prevailed 130:109 against the New York Knicks led by Isaiah Hartenstein from Lower Saxony.
