Jaden McDaniels breaks down the Minnesota offense in game two against the Denver Nuggets.
Game three between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets wasn't particularly competitive as Minnesota ran away with things en rout to a 113-96 victory.
The Wolves jumped out to a 25-11 lead in the first quarter, completing stifling Denver's offense. Though the Nuggets offense got going in the second quarter to the tune of 28 points, it didn't matter because their defense struggled to get stops as Minnesota put up 36 points.
The big first half from Minnesota was all they needed, as Denver was only able to play even basketball in the second half, which wasn't nearly enough to mount a comeback.
Jaden McDaniels Speaks
After game two, where Minnesota won 119-114, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels was very outspoken regarding the Nuggets defense.
He called out everyone on Denver, saying they are all bad defenders.
McDaniels and the Wolves backed up those words with 68 of their 113 points in game three coming in the paint.
Asked after the game how they were able to have so much success in the paint against the Nuggets, McDaniels replied, "Us playing aggressively. When they cut us off, not letting that make us pass, just keep going and making a second move on the defender, and playing in space. Getting downhill in transition a lot helped and attacking mismatches."
Along with their 68 points in the paint, the Wolves scored 21 points on the fastbreak.
McDaniels in particular had a big game, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He was second on the team in scoring behind Ayo Dosunmu, who had 25 points off the bench.
Of their combined 55 points, 36 came in the paint.
Moving The Ball
While McDaniels mentioned getting downhill and continuing to attack rather than move the ball if they were initially cut off, the Timberwolves did ultimately move the ball.
They had a series high 31 assists, one better than their game two performance. The attacking led to drive and kick opportunities, and the movement allowed them to attack off the catch when Denver was moving and out of sorts.
Dosunmu not only led the team in scoring, he also led the team in assists, dishing nine dimes to his teammates. Donte DiVincenzo had seven assists.
On the flip side, the Nuggets high powered offense was held to just 12 assists against 10 turnovers. Nikola Jokic had just three assists, failing to jumpstart the offense in any way with his elite playmaking ability.