Online Reporter
Anthony Edwards posted 30 points and 10 rebounds, Donte DiVincenzo hit a clutch 3-pointer with 1:05 left, and the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 119-114 in Game 2 to level their playoff series on Monday.
Julius Randle had 24 points and nine rebounds and hit two free throws with 18.8 seconds left to help Minnesota even the Western Conference quarterfinal matchup.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is tomorrow night in Minneapolis.
DiVincenzo finished with 16 points, Jaden McDaniels had 14 points, Bones Hyland contributed 13 and Naz Reid 11 for the Timberwolves.
Jamal Murray had 30 points for the second straight game and Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, but both struggled in the fourth quarter, combining to shoot 2-for-12.
Christian Braun and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 16 points apiece and Cameron Johnson scored 13 for Denver, which lost for the first time since March 18. The Nuggets won their last 12 regular-season game and their postseason opener. Bruce Brown hit two 3-pointers to give the Nuggets a five-point lead early in the fourth. Randle’s two free throws cut it to 105-104 in the middle of the period, but Braun answered with a running dunk to force a Timberwolves timeout. Minnesota scored the next three buckets to go ahead 110-107 with 4:06 left.
Braun split a pair of free throws before Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert had a putback slam. Gordon hit a 3-pointer to slice Denver’s deficit to one, but DiVincenzo answered from deep. Jokic made a driving dunk to bring the Nuggets within two, and Edwards traveled with 30.6 seconds remaining.
Braun went 1-for-2 from the line to cut it to 115-114 with 19.1 seconds left. Randle hit two free throws, Murray missed a jumper and DiVincenzo sealed it with a dunk.
Denver led 44-25 early in the second quarter, but the Timberwolves went on a long surge to lead 64-56. The Nuggets scored the final eight points of the half, the last on Murray’s 51-foot heave at the horn, to tie it at intermission.
Elsewhere, CJ McCollum scored six of his game-high 32 points in the final two-plus minutes Monday night for the visiting Atlanta Hawks, who stormed back from an eight-point deficit in the last five minutes to stun the New York Knicks 107-106 in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Hawks ended on a 15-6 run to even the best-of-seven series at a game apiece. Game 3 is scheduled for tomorrow night in Atlanta.
Donovan Mitchell scored nine of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and James Harden had 28 points, lifting the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 115-105 win — and a 2-0 series lead — over the visiting Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Monday night.
“They’re one of the greatest (backcourts),” teammate Evan Mobley said of Mitchell and Harden. “It’s hard to stop them because of their offensive prowess, and they can make any shot.”- Reuters
