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The first three minutes of Game 6 appeared to follow a familiar script, with Denver jumping to a 9-2 lead, forcing Minnesota to call a timeout to regroup. However, the next 45 minutes unfolded as one of the most extraordinary win-or-go-home performances in NBA Playoff history, with the Timberwolves dismantling the Nuggets 115-70.
Minnesota responded to Denver’s early lead with a 20-0 run over the next five-plus minutes, extending the surge to 29-5 to close the first quarter. The Wolves added a 24-0 run in the fourth quarter, becoming the first team to achieve two separate 20-0 runs in a Playoff game during the play-by-play era (since 1997-98).
The Wolves led by as many as 50 points and secured the eighth-largest postseason win in NBA history (+45) and the second-largest Game 6 win ever, behind only Chicago’s +54 in 2015. Their 45-point victory is the second-largest in a win-or-go-home scenario, surpassed only by the Minneapolis Lakers’ 58-point win over the St. Louis Hawks in 1956.
Anthony Edwards fueled the victory with 27 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals, and four three-pointers. Minnesota’s defense, reminiscent of their early series performance, smothered Denver and allowed the Wolves to force a decisive Game 7 in the Mile High City.
In Edwards’ 34 minutes on the court, the Wolves outscored the Nuggets by 43 points—the largest plus/minus of the 2024 Playoffs and the seventh-largest in the play-by-play era.
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