Denver Nuggets Fall to Timberwolves in Historic Game 7 Comeback
Sportsgrid Staff
Host · Writer
Anthony Edwards overcame a slow start, leading the Timberwolves in a thrilling comeback from a 20-point second-half deficit to eliminate the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets, 98-90, in a Game 7 masterpiece on Sunday night.
The Timberwolves made history by overcoming a 15-point halftime deficit—the largest comeback in a Game 7 in NBA playoff history. Edwards, who had just four points, no rebounds, and three assists at halftime, finished with 16 points, eight boards, and seven assists. His impact went beyond his shooting stats, which included a 6-of-24 performance and 2-for-10 from three-point range.
As Minnesota took control late, Edwards repeatedly shut down Jamal Murray, who had 24 points by halftime and finished with 35.
As the final seconds ticked away, Edwards dribbled up the court and waved goodbye to the stunned crowd at Ball Arena, where the Nuggets had the second-best home record in the league this season at 33-8, but the Wolves won three times in this series.
The Wolves, who got 23 points each from Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels, advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 20 years. They’ll face the Dallas Mavericks beginning Wednesday night at Target Center.
Behind Murray’s fantastic start, the Nuggets raced to a 53-38 halftime lead, and his three-pointer with 10:50 left in the third pushed Denver’s lead to 58-38.
The Wolves turned to their defense, the NBA’s stingiest, to get back into the game, closing the quarter on a 28-9 run to pull to 67-66 heading into the fourth.
Dunk on the sportsbooks tonight! Grab SportsGrid’s free NBA picks, NBA props, and NBA SGPs.
Murray, coming off a 4-for-18 shooting performance in the Nuggets’ 115-70 loss in Game 6—the largest ever in the playoffs by a reigning champion—made 13 of 27 shots for 35 points. Nikola Jokic added 34 points and 19 rebounds, but the duo got little help as no other Denver players reached double figures in points.
“So much was being placed on their shoulders,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “We’re expecting Jokic and Jamal to continue pulling rabbits out of their hat, man, and somebody else has got to give some help.”
This marked the Timberwolves’ first Game 7 since beating Sacramento in the second round 20 years ago, which was the only other time they reached the conference finals. The Nuggets were playing in their fifth Game 7 in the last six seasons, seeking their third trip to the conference finals in that span.
“That was a hell of a series,” Malone said. “They gave us all we could handle and they ended up winning Game 7 on our home court, which is a tough one to swallow. But we’ll be back.”
The Nuggets became the fifth consecutive defending champion to fail to reach the conference finals. The last one to do it was Golden State in 2019 when the Warriors reached the NBA Finals but lost to Toronto.
“The one thing I keep on going back to right now is I consider the San Antonio Spurs a dynasty, and they never won back-to-back,” Malone said. “So losing, the hurt of it, the pain of it, it helped us win our first championship. Can we use this year?”
Murray has a big belief that Denver will be right back here next season.
“For sure,” he said. “It’s back to being the hunter.”
Stay ahead of the game and elevate your sports betting experience with SportsGrid.
