By Daniel Paiz

The Denver Nuggets couldn’t get the stops they needed, and fall flat in Game 2, losing 106-80. Aaron Gordon had 20 points. Nikola Jokic added 16 points, 16 rebounds, and eight assists, and Justin Holiday hit for 13 points off the bench.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Anthony Edwards had 27 points and seven assists. Minnesota had big-time help off the bench from Nickeil Alexander-Walker (14 points, six rebounds) and Naz Reid (14 points, five rebounds). Minnesota forced 19 Denver turnovers, stole the ball 11 times, and held the home team to shooting 34.9% from the field.

What Unfolded

Aaron Gordon bullies his way in for the first score of the game, and then does so again to score Denver’s first four points. The Nuggets are attacking the paint, and the Wolves have no answers for it defensively. The visiting team is getting scores from Towns, and lead 11-8; however, Denver is setting the tone early. 22-17 Minnesota, but Gordon has 13 points and Jokic is getting looks inside.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope looks like he got fouled by Edwards, and he’s still on the floor. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone is furious about it and lets the refs know. The inconsistent foul calls in this first quarter are getting a bit much, as Murray was knocked over and no foul, but Jokic was called for an offensive foul for no contact. Wolves lead 28-20 after one, but Denver’s not going anywhere.

Peyton Watson had a fantastic block to start the second, 36-20 Minnesota leads though after a Towns three. Denver needs to use Minnesota’s height against them with increased ball movement. Porter Jr. had some good movement around the visitors, as he got each guy to move before scoring, 42-26 Minnesota. There’s a mixture of frustration from Denver as well as Minnesota getting their shots to drop as a byproduct of it. 54-30 with 3:24 left in the second. Holiday hits a three to make it 54-33. 61-35 at the half as Minnesota has had some good stops defensively. All about getting stops and ball movement for Denver in the second half.

A lot of the same has happened in the third quarter, 78-50 Minnesota is up with 5:03 left in the third. Murray drives the hoop and cuts it to 80-54. Holiday hits another shot and it’s 80-58. 82-60 at the end of the third, as Denver has gotten a few more stops and forced a few turnovers as well by the visitors. There’s a momentum shift happening, and the crowd is feeling it.

Reggie Jackson hits a three and it’s 82-63. Jackson feeds it to Christain Braun and it’s 84-65 with 9:46 to play. Gordon puts it back to make it 87-67. Holiday hits another three and it’s 90-70. Caldwell-Pope puts back a Murray miss and makes it 97-72, and Gordon hits a three to make it 97-75. Around the three-minute mark, both teams emptied their benches. Minnesota wins 106-80.

Keys to Game 3

Effort is the single most important metric for this series so far, and yet there really isn’t a particular stat that measures it. Rebounds might be one way to test that, but Denver outrebounded Minnesota 50-42 on the glass tonight. It could be the points scored each quarter, as Denver only outscored the visitors in the third quarter. It could also be the turnovers. Let’s look at the turnovers in the box scores below:

Denver’s starters had 14 turnovers, while Minnesota’s starters had nine turnovers. The defense got to the home team, and what has to be addressed and worked on is better passing. More ball movement, and more forcing the defense to move will help create offensive opportunities. As far as defense is concerned, is the same issue as Game 1: effort. Guys are going to score in the playoffs, but if you can disrupt their rhythm, and have them underperform, you give yourself a chance to win. That’s what Denver has to do on Friday: put in more effort and take care of the ball more than Minnesota does. It’s the little things.