Nikola Jokic drops an elbow on Anthony Edwards as Nuggets send Game 1 message to Timberwolves
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In a day full of upsets, the Denver Nuggets didn’t get the memo. They took care of business with a 109-80 drubbing of the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1. Nikola Jokic doubled down with a rather physical message of his own as he decked Anthony Edwards with an elbow across the face.
The Nuggets star was called for a flagrant foul, which didn’t factor in much to the scoreboard with the Timberwolves trailing by almost 30 points at that point.
Denver didn’t need a monster game from Nikola Jokic, who still finished with a solid 13 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists on the night. Jamal Murray was one of six Nuggets players to score 13 or more points. His 24 points were his first in almost a thousand days without playoff action since his injury.
Minnesota kept it close early on in a fluid first quarter before Denver outplayed them the rest of the way. The Timberwolves didn’t even muster up one quarter with more than 23 points and scored just 36 total in the second half. Neither Anthony Edwards nor Karl-Anthony Towns eclipsed the 20-point mark on the night.
The visitors from Minneapolis may have been down a few of their rotation players, but the win was impressive nonetheless for a Nuggets team that’s had questions about its defensive capabilities. Their usual home-court edge coupled with some disciplined defense forced the T-Wolves to just 37.0 percent shooting for the game.
Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets finally have their complete set of players ready for a stretch postseason run. If Game 1 was any indication, it appears they’re more than ready to go.
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