For the first time in exactly 20 years and just the second time in franchise history, the Minnesota Timberwolves will play a Game 7 in an NBA Playoff series when they take on the Denver Nuggets at 7 p.m. Sunday at Ball Arena in Denver. The game will be televised on TNT.
The third-seeded Wolves forced the deciding game with a 115-70 win over the second-seeded Nuggets in Game 6 Thursday at Target Center.
Sunday’s game will occur 20 years ago to the day since the Wolves beat the Sacramento Kings 83-80 in the Western Conference semifinals at Target Center. More on that game can be found later in this post.
"They're the defending champs, so it's going to be super tough," Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards told The Associated Press. "They're at home. They're at the crib. Their fans are crazy. It's going to be super loud. But I feel like as a competitor, it's one of the best feelings in the world. ... I'm super pumped for it. I'm super happy. I'm ready to play it."
Despite being just 22 years old, Edwards has become the Timberwolves' leader. He is averaging 30.2 points in 10 playoff games and has scored 40 or more points in three of those.
As electric as he has been, it will take big games from Karl-Anthony Towns and others to win for a third time in Denver. It helped when Mike Conley returned to the lineup after missing Game 5 with a sore right Achilles.
In the other Western Conference semifinal series, fifth-seeded Dallas leads top-seeded Oklahoma City 3-2. The Mavericks can wrap up that series with a win at home Saturday night. If the Thunder win, Game 7 will be played on Monday in Oklahoma City.
Game 1 in the Western Conference will be played at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
NBA PLAYOFFS SECOND ROUND
(Series tied 3-3)
Game 1: Saturday, May 4: Minnesota Timberwolves 106, Denver Nuggets 99
Game 2: Monday, May 6: Minnesota Timberwolves 106, Denver Nuggets 80
Game 3: Friday, May 10: Denver Nuggets 117, Minnesota Timberwolves 90
Game 4: Sunday, May 12: Denver Nuggets 115, Minnesota Timberwolves 107
Game 5: Tuesday, May 14: Denver Nuggets 112, Minnesota Timberwolves 97
Game 6: Thursday, May 16: Minnesota Timberwolves 115, Denver Nuggets 70
Game 7: Sunday, May 19: at Denver, 7 p.m., TNT
NBA PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND
(Minnesota wins series 4-0)
Game 1: Saturday, May 4: Minnesota Timberwolves 122, Phoenix Suns 116
Game 2: Monday, May 6: Minnesota Timberwolves 105, Phoenix Suns 93
Game 3: Friday, May 10: Minnesota Timberwolves 126, Phoenix Suns 109
Game 4: Sunday, May 12: Minnesota Timberwolves 122, Phoenix Suns 116
First Game 7
The first Game 7 in Wolves history came on May 19, 2004 at Target Center.
On his 28th birthday, Kevin Garnett recorded 32 points and 21 rebounds as the Wolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they would lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
Here’s the box score from that Game 7:
SACRAMENTO (80)
Pete Stojkovic 3-12 0-0 8, Mike Bibby 4-13 4-6 15, Doug Christie 9-17 0-0 21, Chris Webber 8-17 0-3 16, Vlade Divac 2-4 3-4 7, Brad Miller 5-12 1-4 11, Rodney Buford 1-6 0-0 2. Totals: 32-81 8-17 80.
MINNESOTA (87)
Kevin Garnett 12-23 7-11 32, Latrell Sprewell 6-16 1-3 14, Sam Cassell 6-12 10-11 23, Ervin Johnson 0-3 0-0 0, Trenton Hassell 2-5 0-0 4, Wally Szczerbiak 4-7 2-2 10, Fred Hoiberg 0-2 0-0 0, Gary Trent 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 30-71 20-27 83.
Sacramento   16       15       29       20 – 80
Minnesota     22       19       21       21 – 83
Three-point goals: Sacramento 8-17 (Stojkovic 2-4, Bibby 3-7, Christie 3-5, Webber 0-1, Buford 0-2), Minnesota 3-10 (Garnett 1-1, Sprewell 1-5, Cassell 1-2, Fred Hoiberg 0-1, Gary Trent 0-1). Rebounds: Minnesota 50 (Garnett 21), Sacramento 44 (Bibby 8, Webber 8, Miller 8). Assists: Sacramento 23 (Bibby 8), Minnesota 17 (Cassell 7).
Attendance: 19,944.
Game 7 history
Minnesota Timberwolves (1-0)
2004
Western Conference semifinals: Defeated Sacramento 83-80
Denver Nuggets (4-3)
1978
Western Conference first round: Defeated Milwaukee 116-110
1994
Western Conference semifinals: Lost to Utah 91-81
2012
Western Conference first round: Lost to Los Angeles Lakers 96-87
2019
Western Conference first round: Defeated San Antonio 90-86
Western Conference semifinals: Lost to Portland 100-96
2020
Western Conference first round: Defeated Utah 80-78
Western Conference semifinals: Defeated Los Angeles Clippers 104-89
Historic blowouts
Minnesota’s 45-point, 115-70 win over Denver Thursday at Target Center is the sixth-largest margin of victory in an NBA Playoff game.
There’s a tie for the top spot at 58 points with the Minneapolis Lakers beating the St. Louis Hawks in 1956 and the Nuggets downing the New Orleans Hornets 121-63 in 2009.
Here are the top 10 biggest margins of victory in NBA Playoff history:
58
03-19-1956: Minneapolis Lakers 133, St. Louis Hawks 75
04-27-2009: Denver Nuggets 121, New Orleans Hornets 63
56
04-21-1973: Los Angeles Lakers 126, Golden State Warriors 70
54
04-30-2015: Chicago Bulls 120, Milwaukee Bucks 66
50
04-04-1971: Milwaukee Bucks 136, San Francisco Warriors 86
47
04-28-1995: Orlando Magic 124, Boston Celtics 77
45
05-16-2024: Minnesota Timberwolves 115, Denver Nuggets 70
44
03-25-1958: St. Louis Hawks 145, Detroit Pistons 101
05-22-1985: Los Angeles Lakers 153, Denver Nuggets 109
04-27-1997: Seattle Supersonics 122, Phoenix Suns 78
05-19-2017: Cleveland Cavaliers 130, Boston Celtics 86