DENVER – The idea that the magic of the Minnesota Timberwolves began and ended with Rudy Gobert was so hilariously appropriate.
were down twenty points against the defending champion Denver Nuggets with 22 minutes left as the NBA's most divisive player sparked a change for the ages.
History was on the Nuggets' side, with teams leading at halftime by at least 15 points in Game 7 going 21-0 to that point (Indiana had joined that list against the Knicks earlier in the day). . Charles Barkley was too, as the Hall of Famer and TNT analyst called on Minnesota coach Chris Finch to “take Gobert out of the game.”
But then Nikola Jokić lost Gobert on the left wing, and Karl-Anthony Towns found the French big man with a pass for wet With 9:51 left in the third quarter, most observers, including this server, thought very little at the time.
A quick confession about something that happened in press row around that time: For the first time in 20 years covering the Association, I prematurely booked my flight and hotel in the wrong city for the next series because, well, that's just how it felt. was over. To Denver for Game 1 of the Western Finals against Dallas on Wednesday.
But not.
By the time this arduous game reached the 7:43 mark of the fourth quarter, when Gobert buried that miraculous turn from the left side that was so unexpectedly Jokić-esque, the Timberwolves had gone on a 41-17 run that included everything good about its resilient program.
The suffocating defense that had come to define them was back, with the Nuggets missing 15 of 21 shots during that span (Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. were a combined 1 of 8). Meanwhile, Minnesota turned the tide on the rebounding front in the process: The Wolves were outscored 29-18 in the first half, but held a 17-7 lead in that stretch.
“It showed us who we are, because the coaches believed in us even though at halftime, even in the third, we were down by 20. They said, 'Keep making runs.' Keep making runs,'” said Anthony Edwards, who scored just four points in the first half but finished with 16 points (on 6-of-24 shooting), eight rebounds, seven assists and a plus-11 mark. “And he showed us who we are, man. “Once we really focus on the defensive side, because offensively we played well, but when we really focus on the defensive side, we are a great team to beat.”
The Timberwolves offense that had sputtered all night suddenly came alive thanks to the defense. Nearly every major player pitched in for a 15-of-25 shooting effort that propelled the Timberwolves to their first West Finals appearance since 2004 after their 98-90 victory. But that Gobert shot was a chef's kiss, the kind of lasting image that a basketball section at the Louvre should generate.
MY GOD, GREAT RU. pic.twitter.com/S2XEQaummo
– Minnesota Wolves (@Timberwolves) May 20, 2024
To hear Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns discuss it afterwards, when they sat next to each other at the press conference and hilariously recapped how the game had changed, was to understand the cohesion of personality and personnel that has played such an important role. part in his basketball history up to this point.
“Rudy Gobert's turnaround was crazy,” Towns proclaimed.
“When Rudy made the turn, I thought, 'Yeah, we probably have them,'” Edwards said with a laugh. “I know that will end everything, that will end everything. Big shout out to Big Ru', man. He gave them a whirl on the butt.”
“On God's day too,” said Towns, who has evolved so impressively from the core player of the Timberwolves franchise to this selfless and capable No. 2 behind Edwards. “Also on the day of God.”
However, it was not just the day of the Lord. It was the twentieth anniversary of Minnesota's Game 7 victory over Sacramento in the West semifinals, the last time the franchise reached the Western finals. Kevin Garnett, who also happened to turn 48 on Sunday, had promised bring all the proverbial artillery to that Game 7 matchup against the Kings.
This defining moment, more than anything, was a case of the Nuggets forgetting that there are 48 minutes in an NBA game.
Murray came out brilliant, scoring 24 of his 33 points in the first half after an atrocious performance in Game 6 in which he missed 14 of 18 shots. If he was going to keep playing like that, and if Edwards was going to keep letting all those Nuggets double teams take the ball out of his hands when it mattered most, the rest was a fait accompli. But then the redemptive arc took hold.
Towns, who many had noted as the odd man out when the Timberwolves' salary cap became a focus after the Gobert trade in the summer of 2022, carried the Wolves' otherwise terrible, while doing a capable job protecting Jokić.
He made 8 of 14 total shots for 23 points, with 12 rebounds to boot, and posted a plus-10 mark. As Edwards walked with Towns to their joint press conference, he made a bold statement that must be considered within the full context of the Nuggets' environment.
“They had no answer for Karl,” Edwards said as he walked. “Karl is the baddest big shot on the planet.”
Here in this Ball Arena, where Jokić has won three of the last four MVP awards and where Denver's 2023 title broke a half-century championship drought for the franchise, Edwards decided to declare Towns' place among the greatest bigs of them all.
However, as far as salvation stories go, none of the Timberwolves can compare to Gobert. Even with his lackluster first half he reignited the conversation about whether he is a winning player, a debate that has raged for years and led to the ill-timed distinction of him as the league's most overrated player in recent years. The Athletic Player poll: Gobert found a way to get the last laugh.
He finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and a plus-10 rating. Including the first round, when the Timberwolves swept the Phoenix Suns, Gobert now has a mark plus-minus from plus-111 that's the best on the team (Edwards is second with +103). But sure, Chuck, tell us again how Gobert can't be played when it matters most.
“I don't watch those guys, so I don't know what they're talking about, but they have to talk about something,” Gobert said when asked about Barkley's comment. “But yeah, I'm glad (Timberwolves) coach (Chris Finch) didn't listen to his advice.”
Of all the Timberwolves people who represented their team's will to fight, Finch might top the list. He tore his patellar tendon after a collision with Mike Conley in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Suns, then spent the second round sitting in the second row while assistant coach Micah Nori took on the vast majority of the duties. On the bench.
But at the end of Game 7 against the Nuggets, when every possession risked deciding the game and every play carried equal weight, Finch suddenly jumped out of his chair to make sure his voice was heard. He has been with this group since midway through the 2020-21 season, when he left his job as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors to replace the fired Ryan Saunders. Edwards was halfway through his first season at the time, and the clear connection between the 22-year-old rising star and Finch has a lot to do with the historic state of Timberwolves affairs currently unfolding.
“It all starts with our head coach, Coach Finch,” Edwards said afterward. “He comes every day, he comes to work, he arrives early. He's thinking of ways to get Ant and KAT to look open. He's thinking of ways to get Mike and Rudy to look open. He's thinking of ways to get Jaden (McDaniels) involved. He's trying to keep Naz (Reid) in this to get him involved. He's just a great coach. And he doesn't sugarcoat anything.
“If Kat gets screwed, he'll go up to KAT. If I'm fucking on top, he's going to jump on me. If Rudy makes a mistake, he will attack anyone who makes a mistake during the game, and I think that's what makes him the best coach in the NBA, to me. Because no matter who he is, no matter how high up the post he is, he will attack you from start to finish. He begins with the head of the serpent, and he is the head of our serpent. “We all look up to him, we listen to him and he (does) a great job making sure we’re ready to go every night.”
Finch, who spent the 2016-17 season in Denver as associate head coach alongside the Nuggets' Michael Malone, knows better than anyone what this Game 7 victory means.
“It's a great moment for our club,” Finch said. “Everyone talks about the last 30 years (in Minnesota), which means nothing to me. But it means a lot to a lot of people to see this team, to support this team. The city is behind this team. And beating a team like Denver on their own court like we did, of course it was going to mean a lot.”
(Photo by Rudy Gobert and Nikola Jokić: AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
