MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES 106, DENVER NUGGETS 80 (final)
May 6, 2024
TIMBERWOLVES NOTES
Player Notes
• Karl-Anthony Towns led the way for the Timberwolves tonight with a game-high-tying 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting including 3-of-5 from deep, a team-high 12 rebounds and two blocks, marking his 15th career playoff double-double and his eighth career 20+ point/10+ rebound playoff game. His 15-playoff career double-doubles are second most in franchise history (Kevin Garnett: 39 games) as well as his eight-career playoff 20+ point/10+ rebound games (Garnett: 27 games). Tonight also marked Towns’ second career playoff game with 20+ points/10+ rebounds/2+ blocks, he and Garnett are the only players in franchise history to post such a stat line.
• Towns scored 20+ points for the third consecutive playoff game (11th career), a career-high for most consecutive career playoff games with 20+ points in a single postseason. Towns is now one of just four players in franchise history to score 20+ points in three consecutive playoff games in a single postseason.
• Towns scored 20 of his 27 points in the first half of tonight’s contest, marking the third time in his career scoring 20+ points in a single half of a playoff game and the first time doing so in the first half.
• Anthony Edwards finished the night with a game-high-tying 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting, seven assists and two steals, marking his fourth consecutive and 11th career playoff 25+ point playoff game, tying the franchise record for most consecutive playoff games with 25+ points. Edwards becomes the first player in NBA history to record multiple streaks of 4+ games with 25+ points aged 22 or younger.
Player Consecutive 25+ Playoff Games (Span)
Anthony Edwards 4 (April 26 – May 6, 2024)
Kevin Garnett 4 (April 22 – April 29, 2003)
Anthony Edwards 4 (April 19 – April 25, 2023)
• With Edwards and Towns each scoring 25+ points, tonight marked the fifth time the duo has scored 25+ points in a playoff game, extending the franchise lead for must such games by any duo.
• Naz Reid came off the bench to finish with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three, five rebounds and a game-high and playoff career-high four blocks in 29:03 minutes of action. Tonight marked Reid’s second consecutive and fifth career 10+ point playoff game. It is the first time in his career Reid has scored 10+ points in consecutive playoff games.
• Reid becomes the first player in NBA Playoff history to come off the bench and score 10+ points, make 4+ threes on 50.0% shooting from deep or better while grabbing 5+ rebounds and 4+ blocks (blocks became an official stat in the 1973-74 season). Reid is also the first player in franchise history to record 4+ blocks off the bench in a playoff game.
• In 29:44 minutes of action off the bench, Nickeil Alexander-Walker finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-7 from deep, six rebounds and a playoff career-high three blocks. Tonight marked Alexander-Walker’s fifth career 10+ point playoff game, four of which have come in this year’s postseason.
• With Reid and Alexander-Walker each coming off the bench to collect 3+ threes and 3+ blocks, it marks the first time in NBA history, either regular season or postseason, that a team has had two players record such a stat line off the bench.
Team Notes
• With tonight’s win, The Timberwolves have now won six consecutive playoff games, the longest streak in team history. The Timberwolves previous record for most consecutive playoff wins was two. The Wolves have also tied the NBA Playoff record for most consecutive wins to start a playoff run for a three-seed, tying the 2004 San Antonio Spurs and the 2020 Boston Celtics.
• With tonight’s win, Minnesota becomes the 34th team in NBA history to win both Game 1 and Game 2 of a best-of-seven playoff series on the road. Of the previous 33 teams that did so, 28 went on to win the series.
• The Wolves are now the sixth Western Conference team since 2000 to win their first four road playoff games. Of the previous five teams to do so, four went on to win the NBA Finals.
• In holding the Nuggets to just 80 points in tonight’s win, the Timberwolves held Denver to their fewest points scored this season in either the regular or postseason. It marked the second consecutive time holding the Nuggets under 100 points and the fourth time doing so this season including regular season and playoffs. No other team held Denver under 100 points more than once.
• Denver’s 80 points are tied for the fourth-lowest point total for an opponent in franchise playoff history and the lowest playoff opponent point total since holding the Lakers to 71 points on May 23, 2004.
• The Wolves led by as many as 32 points in tonight’s win, the biggest lead in franchise playoff history.
• Minnesota finished the night with 11 steals, marking the 13th time in franchise playoff history the Wolves collected 10+ steals. The Timberwolves also finished the night with 12 blocks, marking a franchise playoff-high and the third time the team rejected 10+ shots in a playoff game. Tonight marked just the second time in franchise history that the Wolves tallied 10+ steals and 10+ blocks in a playoff game.
• The Timberwolves led 61-35 at halftime of tonight’s game, marking the largest halftime lead on the road against a defending champion since the Cleveland Cavaliers led the Chicago Bulls 59-33 in the Eastern Conference Finals on May 21, 1992.
(info courtesy of Timberwolves)
