MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jaden McDaniels had 32 points and 10 rebounds and Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 points in a surprise start for the injury-ravaged Minnesota Timberwolves in a 110-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 on Thursday night that finished off another tense NBA playoff series between the rivals.
With their top three guards missing because of injuries, the Timberwolves went big with Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Naz Reid fueling a 64-40 advantage in points in the paint and an 50-33 edge in rebounding.
Minnesota, the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, will start the second round at San Antonio on Monday. The second-seeded Spurs beat Portland in five games in their first-round series.
Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Nuggets, but sidekick Jamal Murray struggled to get free from McDaniels and finished with just 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting. Cameron Johnson scored 27 points to lead Denver’s 10-for-27 night from deep, but Jokic and the 3-pointers simply weren’t enough to keep up with a fiercely motivated Timberwolves team.
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