DENVER – Anthony Edwards shared the floor Saturday night with Nikola Jokic, the two-time NBA MVP who is favored to win his third.

He was in Jokic's Ball Arena, and his Timberwolves were going against the defending champions, the standard of late-game composure and execution that these Wolves could only dream about reaching a season ago.

But in a 106-99 Wolves victory to open their second-round Western Conference playoff series, Edwards and the Wolves stole the Joker's thunder. "Ant" was the best player on the floor, and his team outdueled the vaunted Nuggets in the clutch moments.

"He's a superstar in the making, if he's not now," center Naz Reid said.

Edwards again put on a show for all to enjoy as his stardom continued its ascension with a playoff career-high 43 points, which included 25 of only 40 first-half Wolves points. He sank multiple dagger midrange, fadeaway jumpers in the final minutes to finish 17-for-29 with seven rebounds and three assists.

"It's tough to beat this team," Edwards said. "We come in, and we know it's going to be a war. And we just stay within the game. We play within the game. They make runs, we know we've got to make our runs. We just fight, man. It's going to be a fight."

Jokic finished with a typically robust stat line — 32 points, nine rebounds, eight assists — but the Wolves defense was able to fluster him just enough in the final minutes to grab control of the game.

Reid forced Jokic, who finished with seven turnovers, to travel in the backcourt with just under eight minutes to play to set up a Wolves run. Then with the Wolves ahead 96-91 with less than three minutes left, Rudy Gobert read a lob Jokic was attempting to throw to Aaron Gordon, and Gobert came away with the steal. He also provided tough defense during a late possession that forced a Jokic miss at the rim.

"Jokic is a very, very smart player, but I think I'm a very smart defender, too," Gobert said. "Sometimes you're going to win some of these, sometimes I'm going to win some of them, and just always try to stay a step ahead in those situations."

The Wolves also limited Denver guard Jamal Murray, who came in questionable because of a calf injury, to 17 points on 6-for-14. But even with their strong defensive effort, the Wolves likely would have lost Saturday's game in their series a season ago against Denver because of late-game execution. Game 1 was a full-throated announcement from the Wolves that they are a different team and the Nuggets are likely in for an intense battle if they want to retain their crown.

...continued

©2024 StarTribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.