BBNBA: Karl-Anthony Towns leads Timberwolves to Game 7 win over Nuggets

Sunday featured two NBA Playoff Game 7s and the one starring a pair of former Kentucky greats did not disappoint. In the end, Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves upended Jamal Murray and the defending champion Denver Nuggets 98-90 in a wild one.

The Nuggets took a 15-point lead into halftime and were up by as many as 20 points early in the third quarter, but the Wolves clawed their way back. Anthony Edwards had an off-shooting night, so the brunt of the scoring burden fell onto Karl-Anthony Towns’ shoulders. KAT led his team with 23 points and 12 rebounds, including a put-back dunk in the final minute of the game that served as the final nail in the coffin.

On the losing end, Jamal Murray also led his team in scoring. Murray finished with 35 points but 24 of those came in the first half when Denver was rolling. As they have done throughout the playoffs, Minnesota locked in on defense, holding the Nuggets to just 38 second-half points. Anthony Edwards was proud of that accomplishment, claiming after the game, “I put Jamal in handcuffs!”

The win comes on the 20th anniversary of the last time the Minnesota Timberwolves won a Game 7. It also marks the sixth straight year the NBA Champions from the year prior did not make it past the second round of the playoffs.

Now Towns and the Timberwolves will take on the Dallas Mavericks, who also leaned on a former Wildcat, PJ Washington, and closed out a series in come-from-behind fashion. Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals tips off on Wednesday.

Injuries finally catch up to the Knicks as they fall to the Pacers in Game 7

For the first time in seemingly forever, the New York Knickerbockers had a path to advance deep into the playoffs. Unfortunately for Big Apple residents, the basketball gods are not Spike Lee fans. It started with former ‘Cat, Julius Randle, who had season-ending shoulder surgery late in the year. New York was also down Mitchell Robinson (ankle surgery) and Bojan Bogdanovic (foot surgery), both of whom were also done for the season. With OG Anunoby missing the past four games, the team has been without four of its top five front-court players.

On top of that, Josh Hart suffered an abdominal strain and was questionable going into Game 7. He and Anunoby gave it a go on Sunday but Hart struggled and Anunoby played just five minutes. To make matters even worse, their star, Jalen Bruson fractured his hand during the game and had to exit.

Ultimately, the night belonged to the Indiana Pacers. They routed the Knicks in Madison Square Garden 130-109.

Oscar Tshiebwe is not on the playoff roster for the Pacers, but for completely unbiased reasons, I will assume his general presence in the organization helped with the vibes for the Pacers as they are marching to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Former Wildcat, Isaiah Jackson helped too. He played 10 minutes and shot a perfect 3-3 from the field for nine points. He also picked up four fouls in that time frame. Jackson may not have played much, but he went all out.

Jackson and the Pacers now move on to face the Boston Celtics for a chance to go to the NBA Finals. Game 1 starts in Boston on Tuesday night.

BBNBA Stats for 5/19/2024

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	P/M	MIN
Jamal Murray (DEN)	90-98 L vs. MIN	35	13-27 (4-12)	3	3	0	0	4	-8	43
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)	98-90 W vs. DEN	23	8-14 (1-6)	12	2	2	1	3	+10	39
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	130-109 W vs. NYK	9	3-3 (3-5)	1	1	0	0	1	+4	10
Julius Randle (NYK)	109-130 L vs. IND	DNP-Shoulder