DENVER Nuggets showcased its dominance over Minnesota Timberwolves with a 112-97 Game 5 win in the NBA Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night (Wednesday in the Philippines) at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Nikola Jokić tallied 40 points to go with 13 assists, seven rebounds, two steals, and a block as the defending champions moved on the cups of Division Finals after taking a 3-2 lead in the series.
Aaron Gordon chipped in a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jamal Murray tallied 16 points each and Christian Braun contributed 10 points for the Nuggets.
After a slow start in third quarter, where the Timberwolves turned a 44-50 halftime deficit to a 55-53 lead, the Nuggets got their act together behind Caldwell-Pope, Jokić, and Gordon for an 88-74 lead.
The Timberwolves threatened to within 80-90 but three-pointers from Caldwell-Pope, Jokić, and Braun and inside attacks from Murray stretched the Nuggets’ lead to 108-92.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 23 points, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards added 18 markers apiece, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker contributed 14 points for the Timberwolves.
Meanwhile, New York Knicks got back on the winning track with a dominant 121-91 Game 5 win over Indiana Pacers and took a 3-2 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals series.
After being down 9-16 early, the Knicks relied on the hot hands of Jalen Brunson to take a 38-32 lead after the opening quarter and a 69-54 upperhand at the half.
The Knicks, despite missing several key players to various injuries, continued its run in the second half behind Brunson, Josh Hart, and Miles McBride to put the game from within reach.
Brunson finished with 44 points, seven assists, and three rebounds, Hart and Alec Burks added 18 markers apiece, and Hart contributed 17 points for the Knicks./PN
BOX SCORE:
DENVER 112 — Jokić 40, Gordon 18, Caldwell-Pope 16, Murray 16, Braun 10, Porter 6, Jackson 6, Holiday 0, Watson 0.
MINNESOTA 92 — Towns 23, Edwards 18, Gobert 18, Alexander-Walker 14, McDaniels 9, Reid 7, Morris 6, Anderson 2.
Quarterscores: 28-26, 50-44, 88-74, 112-92.
