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Facing elimination, Anthony Edwards' Minnesota Timberwolves secured a historic 115-70 blowout Game 6 second-round playoff home win against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. After emphatically forcing a Game 7, Edwards touched on Minnesota's motivation entering the do-or-die contest.
Edwards finished with a game-high 27 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and four 3-pointers on 47.1% shooting. Meanwhile, the Wolves dominated the defending champions throughout the night, leading by as many as 50 points after dropping their last three games.
Per The Athletic's Sam Amick, their 45-point victory margin marked the second-largest in an elimination game in NBA history. The only team with a larger win margin facing elimination is the Minneapolis Lakers. They defeated the St. Louis Hawks by 58 points (133-75) in the 1956 Western Division semifinals 68 years ago.
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Furthermore, the Nuggets' 45-point defeat marked their worst playoff loss in franchise history, with their 70-point scoring total also designating a franchise postseason low.
According to Edwards, Minnesota's bounce-back effort was inspired by a video montage created by its coaching staff before Game 6. The clip featured the Wolves' top play from their Games 1 and 2 victories.
“I think today, before the game, the coaches, the whole staff, they did a great job of putting a clip together, as far as like the plays that we made in the two games that we won against these guys," Edwards said. "And everybody started to believe after that little edit that they put together. I can tell the energy shifted after that little edit.”
Following its historic Game 6 outing, Minnesota is one win away from its first Western Conference finals appearance since 2004. Game 7 takes place Sunday in Denver.
Nikola Jokic credits Anthony Edwards and Co. following dominant Game 6 showing
As for Denver’s thoughts on its Game 6 letdown against Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves, Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic offered a blunt assessment.
Jokic noted that Denver was thoroughly outplayed in all aspects, highlighting his team's need to accept the defeat and move on.
"They beat our a**," Jokic said. "They were better than us in every segment of the game, and we need to accept it, take it and just try to be better next time. When you lose by 45, it’s not something that happens every day. Just accept it, you know. I'm cool with it.”
The Nuggets and Wolves' Round 2 series has been a rollercoaster ride thus far, with both teams securing multiple blowout victories. It remains to be seen if Sunday's Game 7 will be a more entertaining back-and-forth contest. However, the defending champions will need a significantly better effort at home to avoid an early playoff exit.
