DENVER — The Denver Nuggets appear to have a problem – and his name is Anthony Edwards.
The Minnesota Timberwolves guard came to play in Game 1, exploding for a playoff career-high 43 points as his team stole the second-round series opener on Denver's home court Saturday with a 106-99 victory.
Another slow start plagued the Nuggets yet again as they began the game in an 18-4 hole before digging out to small leads at the end of both the first quarter and halftime.
"We definitely want to bounce back, especially in our home arena," said Michael Porter Jr., who poured in 20 points for Denver. "We've got to lock in from the jump."
The Nuggets now trail in a playoff series for the first time in two years.
"It is a foreign feeling," second-year guard Peyton Watson said. "It's tough to lose games like that."
Karl-Anthony Towns helped Minnesota's offensive attack with 20 points, but ran into foul trouble in the fourth quarter.
In most cases that would be an advantage for his opponent. This time, however, it led to Minnesota replacing him with NBA 6th Man of the Year, Naz Reid, who stepped in to score 14 in the fourth quarter to help the Timberwolves retain their lead.
"It will be a quick exit if we allow four guys to get off like that...I don't think we had what we needed to have tonight, and I'll leave it at that," head coach Michael Malone said. "There's a reason they were in first place for a large majority of the season."
Nikola Jokic led Denver with a team-high 32 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, but also gave up 7 turnovers.
"We need to be the aggressors," Jokic said. "We need to make it tough. An ugly game. And just find a way to win a game."
Jamal Murray had a tough shooting night before turning it on in the final quarter. He was held scoreless through the entire first half for the first time in his playoff career before finishing the game with 17 points.
Game 2 is scheduled for 8 p.m. (MT) Monday at Ball Arena.
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