Wolves take early series lead with gritty win over Nuggets in Denver

Damn, that was quite the game!!

Final: Minnesota Timberwolves 106 Denver Nuggets 99

Stats:
Minnesota:
Starters:
J. McDaniels 0 pts 0-7 FG 0-2 3PT 8 REB 1 AST 1 BLK
R. Gobert 6 pts 3-6 FG 13 REB 3 AST 1 STL 3 BLK
K. Towns 20 pts 8-13 FG 2-4 3PT 2-4 FT 4 REB 3 AST 
M. Conley 14 pts 5-8 FG 3-4 3PT 1-1 FT 4 REB 10 AST 1 STL
A. Edwards 43 pts 17-29 FG 3-7 FG 6-6 FT 7 REB 
Bench:
K. Anderson 2 pts 1-1 FG 2 REB 1 AST 12 min
N. Reid 16 pts 7-11 FG 2-4 3PT 0-1 FT 4 REB 3 AST 1 STL
M. Morris 0 pts 0-1 FG 3 min
N. Alexander-Walker 5 pts 2-6 FG 1-5 3PT

Game Summary:
The Wolves got off to a very fast start against the hostile Denver crowd. In the opening 5 minutes, Minnesota made the Nuggets call two timeouts amidst an 18-4 run. However, Denver roared back and had a 23-4 run of their own to take the lead going into the 2nd quarter. For the majority of the rest of the game, it was very back and forth - really just trading punches in an opening round fight. As don't forget folks, this is only game 1. 
In the 4th quarter though, the real superstar took over. Anthony Edwards started hot in the game, putting up 16 points in the first quarter and only missed one shot. He continued in the 2nd quarter, as he had 25 at halftime. While most of his third quarter was quiet, he heated up towards the end that spilled into the 4th. Whenever the Wolves needed a bucket, Ant had it - no matter where on the floor. Naz Reid also finally had some good minutes, as he ended up with 16, all in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Towards the end of the game, Minnesota nearly crumbled away its lead with about 2:40 left, but they tightened up and clamped Denver to finish with the game 1 win! 
This is Minnesota's first win the second round since 2004 when they beat the Kings in game 7 to advance to their first ever Western Conference final. I would not expect anything to come easy here, but the Wolves game 1 win cannot be understated - this is big for this team. In my opinion, they are playing with house money in Game 2 as all they needed was at least one win in Denver in the first two games to feel confident for the rest of the series. Not saying this means anything - but its a magnificent start!

Injury Report
Wolves Head Coach did have surgery on his knee to repair the injury he suffered late in the 4th quarter of the series clinching win in Phoenix last week. However, coach is powering through and was indeed on the sidelines for game 1 in Denver tonight, and is expected to remain there through the rest of the series.

Up Next
We head on to Game 2, which will be on Monday at 9 PM CT in Denver. The game will be broadcast on TNT.

​#WolvesBack