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The Western Conference semifinals between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves is down to this: Game 7 inside Ball Arena. Stick here for live updates and analysis as the two teams battle for a spot in the conference finals.
Live updates
Going for 3 (5 p.m.): Welcome to the eighth Game 7 in Nuggets franchise history, and first since the NBA bubble in 2020. Denver famously had a pair of Game 7 wins over Utah and the L.A. Clippers in the Orlando bubble, coming back from 3-1 deficits twice en route to a conference finals appearance. As Bennett Durando noted this morning, several of the key players from that Utah-Denver Game 7 will be in Ball Arena tonight, including a guard who can’t stop thinking about a shot that rimmed out. The Jokic-Murray Nuggets are 3-1 in Game 7s, with the only loss coming to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference semis in 2019. Denver is 4-3 overall. — Matt Schubert
Game 7 themes (5 p.m.): Game 7s make for great theater, but not only because of the stakes and suspense. this one will either end with a roaring ovation for the Nuggets and an encore in the Western Conference Finals — or it’ll be curtains. Here are five themes to watch. — Bennett Durando
Nuggets-Timberwolves Game 7: Must reads
Game 7s make for great theater, but not only because of the stakes and suspense. They are the final act of a ballet between two teams who have already revealed their choreography. There will be variations on the themes from earlier, but those themes have been seen and interpreted throughout six games. Now it’s the sheer quality of the performance that counts most.
I’ve been at all six games of this peculiar NBA playoff series between the Nuggets and Timberwolves. Here are five themes I think might be important Sunday (6 p.m. MT) at Ball Arena. Game 7 will either end with a roaring ovation for the Nuggets and an encore in the Western Conference Finals — or it’ll be curtains.
Read the full story.
Aaron Gordon (50) of the Denver Nuggets sits on the floor after being fouled by Jaden McDaniels (3) of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the third quarter at Target Center in Minneapolis on Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Aaron Gordon remains a beautiful contradiction.
He is a vibe off the court, but a dog on it. He is chill, but leaves defenders running hot. He brings all eyes to him when he walks into a room, but humility defines him.
As the Nuggets face the Timberwolves in Game 7, the focus on Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray is on sharp display. Denver cannot win without the pair playing well, so it should surprise no one that Murray was the last player on the court Saturday practicing floaters. Read the full story.
Mike Conley (10) of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives on Aaron Gordon (50) of the Denver Nuggets during the first quarter at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
The lasting image from one of the most hectic Game 7 endings in NBA history was of two young guards embracing in mutual admiration.
Donovan Mitchell had collapsed to the floor, devastated, after Utah’s final 3-point attempt spun out of the cylinder as time expired, leaving Mitchell with only an 80-78 loss to show for his Herculean effort in the bubble: 36.3 points per game on 52% outside shooting in a seven-game saga. On the floor of the mostly empty gymnasium he remained, until Nuggets guard Jamal Murray found him there and helped him up. The two 23-year-olds had traded 50-point games in a memorable series. Murray comforted his opponent. In a sterile environment, it was a rare moment of warmth.
And what about the player who missed the shot? Read the full story.
Running into a Rudy Gobert screen can feel like colliding with a brick wall. For Jamal Murray, the result was a lot of pain and a lot of bricks.
Murray attributed his 4-for-18 Game 6 performance partially to a right elbow injury that he sustained while defending a screen two possessions into the 115-70 loss Thursday night.
The Nuggets point guard never exited the game due to the injury, but he was shaken up immediately, flexing his right arm on the court during live play to test how the elbow felt. He said he put numbing cream on the elbow when he went to the bench, “just so I didn’t have to feel it every time I extended it,” but it didn’t feel better for the rest of the game. Read the full story.
There is no elasticity left. Hyperbole exists. The Nuggets stand with their toes dangling over the edge of the cliff, a view never required during last year’s championship run. They have reached Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals.
Let’s call this series what it is with no historical perspective required: a clumsy mess of brilliance and blowouts.
Everything screams that the Nuggets should be concerned. With a chance to extinguish the Timberwolves on Thursday night, the Nuggets played with the urgency of Eeyore.
And yet, there is no panic. Disappointment? Yes. Humiliation? Absolutely. But no alarms were blaring in the locker room. The only sound an hour after the game was Nikola Jokic, airpods in, humming along to one of his favorite songs. He is the temperature of this team. And this mood remains the overwhelming reason they will win on Sunday. Read the full story.
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