Jaden McDaniels, Timberwolves put clamps on Nuggets to take 2-1 series lead: Takeaways

Jaden McDaniels called out nearly every Denver Nuggets defender after Monday night’s Game 2 win in Denver. Now, the Minnesota Timberwolves forward can take aim at their offense, too.

The Timberwolves shut down the most efficient offense in the league from the jump Thursday night, holding the Nuggets to 11 first-quarter points en route to a dominating 113-96 Game 3 victory at a raucous Target Center. The win gives Minnesota a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 set for Saturday night in Minneapolis.

The Nuggets showed little fight without starting power forward and emotional fulcrum Aaron Gordon, in street clothes with a left calf injury. Denver shot just 31 percent from the field (13 of 42) in the first half, with center Nikola Jokić the only starter in double-figures at 13 points on dreadful 4-of-14 shooting.

In a nod to McDaniels’ trash talk, the Timberwolves attacked the basket with abandon as they made 20 of their first 29 shots inside the 3-point arc. Reserve guard Ayo Dosunmu and McDaniels were especially effective, finishing with 45 points combined on 19-of-28 shooting.

Here are some takeaways from the Timberwolves’ win:

Jaden McDaniels backs up his words

Jaden McDaniels talked the talk, and then he walked the walk.

Challenged by his head coach to put his money where his mouth was, McDaniels led a ferocious Timberwolves defense and attacked the Nuggets defense he derided to fuel Minnesota’s Game 3 win.

McDaniels was at the center of NBA discourse after he gave a stunningly specific critique of the Nuggets following Minnesota’s win in Game 2 on Monday. He called out many Nuggets by name in detailing the Timberwolves’ offensive strategy.

“Go at Jokić, Jamal (Murray), all the bad defenders,” he said. “Tim Hardaway, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team. Like, just go at them.”

It is rare for a player to be that blunt in the middle of a series, but McDaniels has never worried much about what other people think. It did put some pressure on his shoulders, though.

“Now you gotta go back them up,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said before the game.

Back them up, McDaniels did. While the rest of the Wolves struggled to hit shots early in the game, McDaniels attacked the rim over and over again. He scored nine points in the first quarter to fuel Minnesota’s offense, with much of it coming at the expense of the defenders he disparaged.

McDaniels finished with 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting with 10 rebounds and three assists. He also locked Jamal Murray up on the defensive end. Finch matched McDaniels’ minutes with Murray all night, and the 6-10 defensive specialist was in the Nuggets guard’s grill for 94 feet. Murray scored 16 points on 5-for-17 shooting.

The Nuggets crept back into the game in the fourth, trimming the lead to 14 with 5 minutes to play. McDaniels followed with a 3-pointer and a soaring slam, howling at the rafters after throwing it down to turn the Nuggets away.

It was a dominant performance in a game that needed to be dominant. And thanks in large part to his play, the Wolves now have the lead in the series, with another game at home looming. — Jon Krawczynski

Where’s the three-time MVP?

The Denver Nuggets are in trouble, and it’s clear where their biggest problem lies: Nikola Jokić.

After a so-so series debut and a bad Game 2, Jokić had a dumpster fire of a performance in Game 3, with poor shooting and even worse defense. His final stat line (27 points and 15 rebounds on 7-of-26 from the field) was deceiving. The player the Nuggets like to call the best in the world has put this title-hopeful team in dire straits with a virtual no-show through three games.

Outside of a brief third-quarter flurry in Game 2, Jokić has never put his stamp on this series. In fact, he has bordered on being a detriment with passive offense and stationary defense.

In the first halves of the first two games, Jokić looked more to pass than shoot. In each games, he attempted two shots in the first quarter. In Game 3, he came out shooting but missed his first six attempts and finished the first quarter 1-of-8. For the series, Jokic is 3-of-12 in the opening quarter. Over the nip-and-tuck fourth quarter of Game 2 and the all-important first quarter of Game 3, he went a combined 2-of-15 from the field.

Meanwhile, Jokić’s defense has perhaps never been more exposed. Countless times in Game 3, he made no effort to offer help defense, allowing Dosunmu to go in for an uncontested baseline dunk, then standing like a cone while Julius Randle slalomed past him for a layup.

Of course, much of Jokić struggles are due to the defense of Minnesota center Rudy Gobert, who blocked two of Jokić’s shots in Game 3 and altered several others, particularly his floaters in the lane. It’s a strange plot twist in this head-to-head series, as Jokicćhas typical dominated Gobert, including posting games of 61 points and 56 points. However, if this continues, it will go down as a defining moment for Gobert and a blemish on one of this era’s most accomplished players. — Jason Quick