The Nuggets have the veterans to stay composed after the rough Game 2 loss.
Denver looked like it had Game 2 in hand, storming out of the gate at Ball Arena on Monday night and building a 19-point first-quarter lead behind a hot start from Jamal Murray and some early fireworks from Tim Hardaway Jr. off the bench.
The whole building felt like a 2-0 series was coming.
Then the wheels came off.
Minnesota chipped away, flipped the script in the middle quarters, and walked out of Denver with a 119-114 win that tied the first-round series at one game apiece.
Hardaway Jr. Pushes for an Even Keel
After the loss, Hardaway Jr. didn't hide what went wrong, giving a blunt message on Denver's second-quarter slide.
"You got to keep your composure, even keel. When you get too high and start feeling yourself, you know, it gets to a point where it might backfire. So just got to stay composed throughout the whole entire game, be better at that, and lock in on when we have opportunities to convert."
That's his read on the second quarter, which is where the game actually tilted, with Denver's 39-25 lead shrinking fast and the Nuggets never quite getting the swagger back.
Hardaway believes his team got high on its own start, and the Wolves made them pay for it.
A 16-Point Night That Still Hurt
Hardaway Jr. himself had a solid line in the loss, finishing with 16 points off the bench for the Denver Nuggets while knocking down a pair of threes in the first quarter and getting to the free throw line a handful of times.
In a game Denver lost by five, he was arguably one of the bigger reasons the Nuggets stayed close at the end.
The problem was the long stretch in between, when the starters wore down and the second unit couldn't match the energy.
Why the Collapse Stings
Blowing a 19-point home lead is bad anytime, but it's worse in the playoffs and worse still when home-court advantage goes with it.
Denver finished the regular season 54-28 as the 3 seed in the West, while Minnesota (49-33) came in as the 6 seed trying to spring an upset.
Game 1 went Denver's way 116-105 behind a big outing from Nikola Jokic, who put up a 25-13-11 stat line on the Timberwolves, and Game 2 was supposed to lock in a 2-0 cushion before the series headed to Minneapolis.
Instead, Anthony Edwards poured in 30 points and 10 rebounds to drag Minnesota out of the early hole, while Chris Finch's rotation held up better down the stretch and David Adelman's short Denver bench ran out of gas in the fourth.
What's Next in the Series
Game 3 tips off Thursday night at Target Center, and the Nuggets need more rest for Jokic and Murray, more production from the second unit, and the even-keel approach Hardaway was pointing at after the loss.
The NBA Playoffs don't wait for anyone to get comfortable.