DENVER — It's safe to say the Nuggets were ready for the playoffs.
Denver kicked open the door to the postseason Sunday night with a dominant 109-80 shellacking of the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 at Ball Arena.
Per usual, the Nuggets were spearheaded by two-time defending NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and his near-triple double (13 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists).
"We set a pretty high bar tonight," head coach Michael Malone said. "When you win a game, don't come up for air. Don't be satisfied. Don't think you've figured anything out, because come Wednesday night it's going to be a completely different game."
Also making a significant impact for Denver was Jamal Murray, who was appearing in his first playoff game since 2020, with a game-high 24 points on 9-for-22 shooting while dishing our eight assists.
"It's been a while," Murray said. "When you feel that crowd, feel that energy. It was just nice to settle in and play my game."
Denver, the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, takes an early series lead on No. 8 Minnesota and will host the Timberwolves for Game 2 on Wednesday night before the opening-round series shifts to the Target Center in Minneapolis for Games 3 and 4.
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