The Minnesota Timberwolves jumped all over the Denver Nuggets early on Wednesday night and never let up. The Wolves led wire-to-wire for the first time this season in a monumental 110-89 win against the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season.
Wolves dominate Nuggets defensively
The Timberwolves have put together a monstrous defensive campaign early this season. Through four games, the Wolves have held opponents to under 100 points three times already. The most impressive of those efforts was Wednesday’s matchup against Nikola Jokic and the reigning champion Nuggets.
Minnesota held Denver to just 89 points and their lowest offensive rating for a single game since 2019, a performance that drew lavish praise from head Coach Chris Finch. Rudy Gobert was massive in this one contributing two blocked shots, but his presence was really felt as a rim deterrent. Gobert dissuaded more than a handful of shot attempts tonight, forcing Nuggets ball handlers to reset the offense rather than challenge him at the rack.
The Wolves started the night with Jaden McDaniels matched up on Jamal Murray, Karl-Anthony Towns on Nikola Jokic and employed Gobert as a help-side rim-protector by matching him up with Aaron Gordon—the same defensive configuration they ultimately settled on during last year's playoffs.
“If they’re going to put Gordon at the rim,” Finch said after the game, “we’re going to put Rudy at the rim.”
Gobert wasn’t the only one with a defensive gem. Finch also praised Towns’ efforts in defending Jokic.
“He did a really good job of putting a body on [Jokic],” Finch said. “…You just got to fight him enough that you can bring help when you need to.”
With all the size Minnesota has on roster, the Wolves have a luxury that other teams don’t when it comes to matching up with a superstar big man like Jokic.
Building off this win
Finch was clearly happy with his team's strong wire-to-wire win.
“This was a great, focused effort. Executed everything we talked about really well, at a high-level.”
The Wolves will have an opportunity to build off this performance when they face the Utah Jazz at home on Saturday, November 4. Last season, they went just 2-2 against Utah. It will be another big-on-big matchup for Minnesota, as Walker Kessler—whose draft rights the team traded to Utah as part of the Gobert trade—Lauri Markkanen and John Collins will look to take down Gobert, Towns and company at Target Center.
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