DENVER, CO - APRIL 20: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets talks to the media after the game against the Los Angeles Lakers during Round 1 Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs on April 20, 2024 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
![Karl-Anthony Towns dunks the ball during the first quarter of Game 6.
] AARON LAVINSKY • aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com](https://i0.wp.com/arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/ZBFNXBXEAJAOLGVPD7GZH26LLQ.jpg?resize=640%2C528&ssl=1)
Ten clutch points: Everything to know about the Timberwolves’ 45-point destruction of the Nuggets.
1. A result no one predicted
Ticket prices on the secondary market were down, way down.
The odds in Vegas were up.
And just when so many expected defending NBA champion Denver to send the Timberwolves home for the summer with a fourth consecutive and resounding loss, the Wolves evened this Western Conference semifinal series at 3-3 with a 115-70 victory.
The deciding Game 7 is Sunday in Denver.
Wolves point guard Mike Conley came back after missing Game 5, Karl-Anthony Towns overcame a kneed leg and the Wolves trounced the Nuggets, just as they had in Game 2 in Denver.
Forward Jaden McDaniels provided a pulse for the Wolves after they fell behind 9-2, then went on a 20-0 run that changed the course of the game.
McDaniels provided 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting, three three-pointers and the energy that will go to a Game 7, just as the Wolves-Sacramento Western Conference semifinal series went to a Game 7 the Wolves won at home exactly 20 years ago.
Denver star Jamal Murray made only one of his first 11 shots and finished 4-for-18, not far off from his 3-for-18 in Game 2.
The Nuggets then won three consecutive games to take the series back to Target Center.
On Thursday, they trailed by as many as 50 points.
Both coaches cleared their benches starting with more than eight minutes left in the game.
If that wasn’t enough, the sellout crowd received free chicken sandwiches when Denver backup Julian Strawther missed consecutive free throws to trigger a fourth-quarter coupon giveaway.
