Short-handed Timberwolves look vulnerable in Game 5 loss to Nuggets
Without Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo, the Minnesota Timberwolves are suddenly vulnerable. Is a historic exit next?
The Minnesota Timberwolves raced out to a 3-1 lead, but it might have cost them everything. Yes, Game 5 on Monday, April 27, when the Denver Nuggets outpaced Minnesota, 125-113 , in the first round of the NBA playoffs, was just one game. But it also served as an indicator of just how much Minnesota is missing without Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo .
Denver outscored Minnesota by a margin of 37-24 in a third quarter avalanche, as the Nuggets are trying to become just the 14 th team in NBA history to win a playoff series after trailing 3-1. All of this prompts one question: can the Timberwolves make a run without Edwards and DiVincenzo? Can they even get out of this round?
The Nuggets are now playing with significantly more confidence and momentum than they did earlier in the series. Denver’s bench had scored just 16 points in the crushing Game 4 loss; on Monday night, the reserves scored 27. Cameron Johnson and Spencer Jones, the pair of key Denver forwards, combined to drop 38 points in Game 5 just two nights after they scored just 9.
The Nuggets harassed Minnesota’s ball-handlers, forcing them into 25 turnovers Monday night, which was three more than Minnesota’s combined total in Games 3 and 4. This is where Edwards’ absence hurts the Timberwolves. He’s a stabilizing presence and one of the dynamic scoring threats in the NBA.