BBNBA: Timberwolves, Towns take Game 1 from Nuggets, Murray

The first game of the NBA Western Conference Semifinals tipped off shortly after Mystic Dan poked his nostril over the finish line first of the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby, sending a large swath of people in funny hats into a frenzy and thwarting hundreds of dollars from wistful trifecta bettors like myself.

At 17-1, Mystic Dan proved that 4-star horses can compete at the highest level, an analogy I spent too many words articulating yesterday as it relates to Mark Pope’s construction of the Kentucky basketball roster.

Putting mediocre metaphors aside, two actual former 5-star Wildcat players battled it out in the NBA Playoffs on Saturday. Karl-Anthony Towns and the 3-seed Minnesota Timberwolves faced off against Jamal Murray and the 2-seed Denver Nuggets on Saturday, with the road team upending the reigning world champions 106-99.

Jamal Murray finished with 17 points but shot just 6-14 from the field, as the normally lethal two-man game between him and Nikola Jokic was not enough to secure the victory. I’d like to say that the reason for this was Karl-Anthony Towns, and while his 20 points and four rebounds indeed played a big role in that, Anthony Edwards stole the show.

The Ant-Man out of Georgia has proven many naysayers, including me, wrong. Perhaps it was bias against Tom Crean-coached players but I never thought Edwards would blossom into the NBA star he is today. He had 43 points, seven boards, three assists, two blocks, and a steal as the Timberwolves jumped out to an important 1-0 lead, winning the series opener.

The Wolves swept Phoenix in the first round and much of the conversation revolved around the woes of the Suns, but maybe the Timberwolves…and stay with me here…are just really good.

Today in the NBA Playoffs

Round 1 | Game 7 | Series tied 3-3
1:00 (ABC): Magic @ Cavaliers