Jaden McDaniels refused to let Minnesota’s injury crisis become an excuse. Playing without 3 of their top guards, the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets 110-98 in Game 6 on Thursday night at Target Center, finishing off one of the most dramatic first-round playoff series in recent memory. McDaniels led the way with 32 points and 10 rebounds, delivering a performance that was as complete as it was timely. Terrence Shannon Jr. added 24 points off a surprise start to give the Timberwolves exactly the spark they needed when it mattered most.
Minnesota entered the night as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and did so without Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu, all of whom sat out due to injury. Together, those 3 absences stripped the Timberwolves of a significant portion of their offensive firepower and shot creation. Rather than shrink from the challenge, head coach Chris Finch’s group responded with the kind of collective toughness that defines playoff basketball at its best.
How the Timberwolves controlled the game
With their perimeter options limited, Minnesota leaned heavily on size and physicality. Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Naz Reid drove a dominant interior effort that produced a 64-40 advantage in points in the paint and a commanding 50-33 edge in rebounding. Those numbers told the story of a team that found a way to win on its own terms rather than trying to replicate what it could not have.
Shannon brought a dimension that Denver had no answer for. His pure speed created repeated problems for Nuggets defenders whenever he found space toward the basket. His 3-point play with 1:43 remaining gave Minnesota a 6-point cushion and effectively took the life out of Denver’s comeback hopes. McDaniels then delivered the dagger, draining his signature mid-range pull-up from 19 feet to push the lead to 7 with just over a minute to play. He later intercepted a pass by Nikola Jokic under pressure to send the Timberwolves to the free-throw line and seal the result.
Nikola Jokic could not carry Denver alone
Jokic was brilliant again, finishing with 28 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds in a performance that underlined once more why he remains one of the most gifted players the sport has ever seen. However, brilliance from 1 player was never going to be enough to overcome a Timberwolves team playing with this level of desperation and defensive discipline.
Jamal Murray, Denver’s most important secondary option, struggled badly throughout the night. McDaniels shadowed him relentlessly across the perimeter, holding him to just 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting. Without Murray finding his rhythm, the Nuggets had no reliable second source of creation. Cameron Johnson did his part, scoring 27 points and connecting on several long-range attempts as part of Denver’s 10-for-27 night from 3-point range. Even so, it was never enough to keep pace with a Timberwolves group that never flinched.
Gobert was equally important on the defensive end. The 4-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year used his length and timing to make life miserable for Jokic inside, forcing the superstar center into uncomfortable positions throughout the night. That combination of McDaniels on Murray and Gobert on Jokic gave Minnesota a defensive foundation that Denver simply could not crack when it counted most.
A rivalry that continues to grow
The bad blood between these 2 teams has been building for years. Since beating the Timberwolves in 5 games in the first round and going on to win the NBA championship in 2023, Denver has struggled to recapture that same level of production and hunger. This series exposed those limits once again. McDaniels added fuel to the rivalry earlier in the series with a pointed remark about the Nuggets’ defensive effort, and Minnesota’s players made no effort to hide their feelings toward their opponent throughout.
The stakes rose even higher when DiVincenzo went down in the opening minute of Game 4 and Edwards soon followed. During a stoppage in the fourth quarter of Game 6, DiVincenzo appeared on camera with a wide smile, sitting behind the bench with his foot in a cast, watching his teammates finish what they started.
Minnesota now advances to the second round, where they will face the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs starting Monday. The Spurs knocked out Portland in 5 games in their own first-round series. For a Timberwolves team that has already overcome so much just to get here, the challenge ahead only gets harder. Based on Thursday night, they look ready for it.
Source: Associated Press, Minnesota Timberwolves
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