Wolves Back Up the Big Talk With Blowout Win Over Denver in Game 3

“They’re all bad defenders.”

Jaden McDaniels called out Denver’s stars after Game 2, and the Wolves proved him right by bulldozing the Nuggets 113-96 in Game 3 Thursday night in Minneapolis

Minnesota has taken control of the series with a 2-1 lead, and Game 4 is in Minneapolis on Saturday night. With another win, the Wolves would lead the series 3-1 and put the Nuggets in a must-win situation entering Game 5 on Monday in Denver.

The Wolves attacked the paint and made Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Cam Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr., and anyone else McDaniels trash-talked after Game 2, from start to finish. Minnesota held Denver to a season low 11 points in the first quarter, built a 61-39 lead at the half, and led by as many as 27 points in the second half.

The damage was done despite Anthony Edwards battling foul trouble, scoring only 17 points in 24 minutes. Julius Randle also struggled to score, finishing with 15 points on 6-for-15 shooting. Naz Reid had just five points in 17 minutes off the bench.

So who killed Denver? The others.

Ayo Dosunmu was a beast with 25 points off the bench, most of his damage coming in transition or simply blowing by Denver’s defense for layups in the half-court.

McDaniels was a monster, capping his big night with a three-pointer and then a monster jam in traffic late in the fourth quarter to put an exclamation point on the blowout. He finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, knocking down 9 of 13 shots, all while playing relentless defense. Prime Video analyst and NBA Hall of Fame inductee Dwyane Wade said McDaniels’ defense was so tight that it was like he was wearing Murray’s jersey.

The Wolves scored 68 points in the paint, compared to 34 for the Nuggets.

Rudy Gobert and Donte DiVincenzo were also great. Gobert finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks. DiVincenzo had 15 points, seven assists, and four steals.

Jokic couldn’t buy a bucket, largely because Gobert, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year, dominated him. The three-time MVP finished with 27 points and 15 rebounds, but he shot just 7 of 26 from the field.

Murray also struggled, scoring 16 points on 5-for-17 shooting.

The Nuggets shot 34.1%, their worst shooting game of the entire season.

Up next: Game 4, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC.