BBNBA: Karl-Anthony Towns and T'Wolves roll Nuggets

The defending champion Denver Nuggets are officially in serious trouble.

Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves sent a loud message Monday night, dominating the Nuggets 106-80 in Denver to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. It was the Timberwolves’ second-largest playoff victory in team history.

Towns was extremely efficient, scoring 27 points on 10-15 (3-5 3PT) shooting while grabbing 12 rebounds. He secured his 15th career postseason double-double.

Karl-Anthony Towns corner 3 pic.twitter.com/OomjPbDxnu

— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) May 7, 2024

Minnesota’s defensive anchor, 3x NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, missed the game due to the birth of his first child, but this didn’t affect the T’Wolves one bit. Many on social media lauded Minnesota as playing the best defense in a playoff game since the Bad Boy Pistons of the early 2000s.

Where Towns shined, Jamal Murray had a brutal performance for Denver. Murray shot just 3-18 (0-4 3PT) from the field, failing to make a single three-point shot.

Monday night marked Murray’s 75th career playoff game. It was just the second game where he has failed to score in double figures, and the first time since his third career playoff game (April 18, 2019).

His rough night may linger, as he may be in jeopardy of a fine or potential suspension for Game 3 of the series. Murray threw a heat pack from the bench onto the court while play was happening, and somehow avoided being penalized during the game. However, he may face repercussions if the league decides to pursue them.

The TNT camera shows Nuggets star Jamal Murray throwing a heat pack from the bench right into game action on the floor before a T-Wolves bucket. ⁉️ pic.twitter.com/btZp6dbtZR

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 7, 2024

As the next two games now head to Minnesota, the defending champs are officially in real danger of failing to defend their crown.

Isaiah Jackson, Pacers bench dominate as Indiana falls short

Isaiah Jackson contributed eight of Indiana’s 46 bench points Monday night, as the Pacers fell in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semfinals 121-117 to the New York Knicks. In the loss, Indiana outscored New York’s bench by 43 points.

Jackson’s eight points matched his entire point total from the Pacers’ opening-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Isaiah Jackson runs the floor for the fastbreak flush 💥 pic.twitter.com/UlEM81xuqA

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 7, 2024

5/6/2024 BBNBA Statistics:

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)	106-80 W @ DEN	27	10-15 (3-5)	12	1	1	2	2	+21	36
Jamal Murray (DEN)	80-106 L vs MIN	8	3-18 (0-4)	13	2	2	1	4	-16	36
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	117-121 L @ NYK	8	4-6 (0-0)	5	1	—	3	—	+5	13

Tonight in the NBA Playoffs

Round 2 | Game 1 | Series tied 0-0
7:00 p.m. EST (TNT): Cavaliers @ Celtics

Round 2 | Game 1 | Series tied 0-0
9:30 p.m. EST (TNT): Mavericks (Washington) @ Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Sarr, Wallace)