Jaden McDaniels did not mince words about how the Minnesota Timberwolves turned things around and overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their playoff series on Monday.
Facing the possibility of falling into a 2-0 series hole, the Timberwolves got it together just in time and defeated the Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., 119-114, to level the series at 1-1.
For McDaniels, the secret behind the comeback was the Nuggets’ poor individual defense, as he even dropped names to make his point.
“Go at Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders. Tim Hardaway, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, their whole team,” McDaniels said, via Chris Hine of The Minnesota Star Tribune.
That was a clear shot fired by McDaniels at the Nuggets, who surely can use his words as additional motivation to get back at the Timberwolves in Game 3.
The series is far from over, and the Nuggets can still make adjustments on defense, but it appears that McDaniels has already made up his mind about what kind of team the Nuggets are on that side of the court.
To McDaniels’ point, Minnesota shot 48% from the field in Game 2 and 41% from deep. The Timberwolves turned up the heat in the fourth quarter, where they shot 11/22 to complete the comeback.
Game 3 of the series will take place on Thursday at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
