Los The Minnesota Timberwolves They came back from a 20-point deficit this Sunday to beat 98-90 against Denver Nuggetschampions of the NBAand advanced to the Western Conference finals, where the Dallas Mavericks. The Wolves reached their first conference finals in 20 years and their second in their history. It happened a while after Indiana Pacers also became strong as a visitor and after a first half of notable effectiveness took the team out of the race. New York Knicks by beating them 130-109 to get into the East definition after a decade of disappointments.
But better to go in parts and talk about the phenomenal Minnesotawhich has the Argentine Pablo Prigioni as a technical assistant. In 2004 he was the team Kevin Garnett. Now it is the Anthony Edwards and from the Dominican Karl Anthony Townswho will face the Mavericks from Slovenian Luka Doncicwhich eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunderfirst seeds.
The Nuggets, who last year won the first ring in their history, say goodbye to the playoffs after blowing a 58-38 lead at the beginning of the third quarter, despite 34 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists from the Serbian Nikola Jokic.
Down 15 points at halftime, the Wolves acted the best comeback ever in a seventh game of a playoff series. They improved the mark achieved last time by the Golden State Warriorswhen they recovered after a -11 at halftime.
The Dominican Karl Anthony Towns He made the difference in Denver with a double double of twenty-three points and twelve rebounds, to which he added two assists, two steals and a block.
They supported him Jaden McDaniels with twenty-three points on a night in which Anthony Edwards He struggled to find rhythm, but finished on the rise with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
“I couldn’t find my rhythm, I had to trust my teammates and they converted. They have to be congratulated,” Edwards said after the Denver game.
The French Rudy Gobert He contributed three points and nine rebounds with seven of nine from the free line. His effectiveness was important for the Wolves to stop the Nuggets’ attempted reaction.
The Wolves showed character, who suffered a lot against Jokic who already had a double double at halftime with the Nuggets up fifteen points. Jamal Murray He scored 24 in two quarters and seemed to put the champions’ victory on track.
The lead reached 58-38 at the beginning of the third period, but the Wolves reacted with a devastating 60-37 second half that gave them their ticket to the Western finals.
The Wolves sealed a 19-3 run against the Nuggets who made just one field goal in thirteen attempts. That quarter increased to 28-9 with a three-pointer by Edwards that reduced the margin to one point at 76-66 entering the fourth quarter.
The Wolves did not stop accelerating against the Nuggets in which Jokic played every minute of the second half. The Serbian, very tired, hit his first triple after seven failed attempts.
And the Wolves, with a decisive Towns on both sides of the court, with a great defense against Jokic, were able to secure their pass to the second conference finals in their history.
Indiana and an overwhelming start
A while before, Tyrese Haliburton he scored 26 points and the Indiana Pacers put together one of the most sensational first halves in Game 7 history to earn a 130-109 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 10 years.
“We have a historic offense, but this guy got things going and everyone followed his lead,” center Myles Turner said, pointing to Haliburton.
And he continued: “To do that on the road, here at the Garden in Game 7 is obviously phenomenal, but I think this is what we have been doing all season and we were able to show it on the biggest stage.”
The Pacers made 29 of their 38 shots in the first half, a 76.3% shooting percentage that was the highest in the postseason since 1997, when the NBA began keeping detailed play-by-play records for every period. They led 70-55 at the time and ran away every time the Knicks tried to rally in the second half. “I just told our team that by winning a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden they made history,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
The Pacers, sixth in the standings, set an NBA playoff record by finishing with 67.1% in the game and advanced to face the favorite, Boston Celtics, in a series that begins Tuesday. The last time Indiana Indiana had reached the conference finals was in 2014, when they lost to Miami and had the Argentine in their ranks Luis Scola.
New York figure Jalen Brunson left the game in the second half with a fracture in his left hand, one more injury for the beaten Knicks, who suffered all year with them.
They brought back OG Anunoby for Sunday after missing four games with a strained left hamstring, but he was clearly not moving well and was taken out of the game after just five minutes.
Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard each scored 20 points and Aaron Nesmith finished 8 of 8 en route to scoring 19 points for the Pacers.
Donte DiVincenzo hit nine 3-pointers and scored 39 points for the Knicks, who were trying to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000 but couldn’t overcome the losses of Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic, before losing Anunoby and finally Brunson .
“Knowing that this team gave its best effort all year, I can live with the result,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It’s disappointing, but in the end there’s only going to be one happy team. Twenty-nine teams will fall short. “This team fought like crazy and there are no regrets.”
Brunson finished with 17 points and nine assists, going 6 for 17 after scoring 40 or more points five times this postseason. Alec Burks came off the bench to record 26 points.
The third Game 7 between the franchises showed that the Pacers’ fast-paced style can make them win at a time when defenses are supposed to rule. “I think the old school thinks you can’t play that fast in the playoffs. Of course we can,” Haliburton said.
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