Those 2024 emotions were bubbling back up to the surface.
The Nuggets were stunted. Flustered. Worked up.
David Adelman was across midcourt. His protests were only causing more harm. Aaron Gordon was in deep foul trouble. He had just picked up his third of the first quarter, and Adelman had wasted his challenge trying to overturn it. He picked up a technical foul in the process for his indignance. The Timberwolves had brought their 2024 defense to Denver, and they were headed toward a 12-point lead. Nikola Jokic was turning it over. The role players were missing shots.
This all felt reminiscent of that cursed second-round series two years ago, when the Wolves and refs got in the Nuggets’ heads, when Denver lost three of four games at home.
The 2026 Nuggets were ready to take the first punch. They rallied to tie it by halftime, raced ahead in the third quarter, then held on in the fourth for a 116-105 Game 1 win over their rivals Saturday at Ball Arena. They’ve won eight of their last nine playoff Game 1s dating back to their championship run in 2023. Their only series-opening loss in that time was to Minnesota.
“It was the type of playoff game that you love to win because it was kind of ugly,” Adelman said. “… We were up against it right away. And that’s a big thing for a road team to come out, punch the home team in the mouth. That’s what they did after we missed shots. And just the reaction to that, staying together, winning a grimy game, it’s good. We’re gonna have games where we shoot the hell out of it and everything looks pretty, and everybody is gonna say how good we are. There’s no difference. You just win the game. And that’s what the game was tonight.”
Nuggets guard Christian Braun put it more simply after contributing 12 points and eight rebounds.
“When you win and you don’t play well,” he said, “I think that’s a good sign.”
Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 30 points on a 16-for-16 afternoon at the foul line, shaking off a slow start and a twisted right ankle after Jaden McDaniels closed out into his landing space on an early 3-point attempt. It was his 20th career 30-point playoff game, and he overcame an 0-for-8 outside shooting performance to get there. Jokic added 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Their two-man game picked apart Minnesota in the third quarter, generating clean scoring chances on nearly every possession.
Most importantly, Denver’s defense came to bat. It bided time for the offense during the first half, while nerves settled and turnovers slowly dissipated. It sank its teeth in during a 14-0 third-quarter run that broke the game open, holding the Wolves scoreless for more than four straight minutes.
“It was physical. It was ups and downs. Runs,” Jokic said. “… It always is about the runs and how you’re gonna react and how you’re gonna manage those runs. Are you gonna take bad shots, or are you gonna create open looks?”
Anthony Edwards, playing on a wobbly knee, led the Wolves with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Adelman was pleased with Braun’s defense against the star guard, who said he felt fatigued but healthy in the loss. Rudy Gobert added 17 and 10. Julius Randle struggled to assert himself, needing 16 shots to compile 16 points. He and Edwards combined to shoot 14 for 35. Minnesota coach Chris Finch called Murray’s 16 free throws a “head-scratcher” compared to his team’s 19 attempts.
“Ant was trying to snake. Just get a little tap on the ball and make him fumble it so he has to get back in front. The little details helped our defense a lot,” Murray said. “And for us, that leads to offense. So I felt like when we did make those runs, it was because of those little plays.”
The Wolves have been prone to mental lapses this season, and they bit themselves with one at a critical moment in the series opener. Murray was forced to heave a 45-footer at the shot clock buzzer after having the ball poked away with two minutes left — a rare example of a Nuggets possession that didn’t generate an open shot down the stretch. It should’ve been Minnesota’s ball down five. Instead, Murray’s heave grazed the rim, and the Timberwolves ball-watched, giving up an easy offensive rebound to Bruce Brown.
“I’d be mad if I didn’t hit rim,” Murray said.
Gordon capitalized with an open dunk to punctuate his 17-point, eight-rebound game.
“We know what this is. When Aaron plays, we’re a different team,” Adelman said. “It’s just the bottom line. It’s not the stats. It’s the feel. We feel bigger because we are.”
Peyton Watson was the only inactive player on either team. As he continues to recover from a right hamstring strain that he reaggravated on April 1, the growing sense around the team is that he’ll miss at least a couple more games, a source told The Post.
His absence was a troubling sign for the Nuggets’ bench depth and for their defensive options against Edwards. Adelman said earlier this week that he hoped to start the playoffs with “at least nine guys out there (to) see the rotation, how it works,” then to shorten his rotation throughout the series. With Watson ruled out for Game 1, it wasn’t so simple.
“I’ll say I’m gonna play eight and a half going in,” the first-year coach said before tip. “That’s kind of the way you look at it.”
Spencer Jones was the eighth man, making his playoff debut and checking in for the first time since March 29. The 24-year-old was sidelined by a right hamstring injury of his own late in the regular season, interrupting his momentum right after the Nuggets had found success with him as a quasi-backup center.
They had to rely on him and Cam Johnson at the four through most of the first half Saturday after Gordon got in foul trouble. Both were ready for the task defensively. Johnson put in good work against Randle and Edwards in isolation. Offensively, he had Edwards guarding him, so Denver tested Ant’s off-ball defense by calling a steady diet of plays early for Johnson. He scored 10 of his 12 points before halftime. The other two: a game-sealing floater with 53 seconds to go.
As for the ninth man to complete Adelman’s eight and a half? Jonas Valanciunas played the eight minutes Jokic was off the floor, attempting to match Rudy Gobert in size on the glass. Murray and Johnson staggered with the bench unit. The Timberwolves forced Murray to defend pick-and-rolls while Valanciunas was down the floor in coverage, resulting in a couple of pull-up 3s. But otherwise, Minnesota didn’t have enough reliable shot creation when Edwards and Randle were both off the floor. Murray got into a midrange rhythm during the second quarter, and Denver won the first non-Jokic minutes of the playoffs by seven to find new life.
That stint was a minus-five to start the fourth quarter, prompting Adelman to go back to Jokic with nine minutes left and a seven-point lead. Gobert was impressive in 1-on-1 defense against the three-time MVP most of the day, and he forced the Nuggets to respect him offensively by finishing through contact around the rim.
“If he plays like that,” McDaniels said, “we’re going to win (the series).”
But Jokic delivered a decisive sequence with six minutes remaining after Minnesota had cut it to two. Ayo Dosunmu was amping up the pressure. He handed the ball to Murray on the baseline after scoring, ready to pick him up full-court as the Wolves are fond of doing. After the Nuggets got the ball up, Jokic drained a tough floater over Gobert while getting fouled. He disrupted a pass by Randle at the other end, leading to a steal, then tipped in a missed 3-pointer in transition to put Denver back up 102-95.
