The Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers were both on the end of brutal losses in the NBA play-off semi-finals on Monday.
Nikola Jokic and the defending Nuggets were beaten again by the Minnesota Timberwolves and will head to Minneapolis 2-0 down in the series.
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Meanwhile, the New York Knicks came back to win Game 1 against the Pacers in dramatic fashion at Maddison Square Garden.
Anthony Edwards was on fine form again for the Timberwolves and led the charge as his side recorded a blowout 106-80 win in Denver.
The 22-year-old hit 43 points in the first game of the series and topped the charts with 27 in Game 2.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards drop 27 apiece as the @Timberwolves‘ rugged defense puts them up 2-0! Series shifts to Minnesota Friday at 9:30pm/et on ESPN.
Edwards: 27 PTS, 7 AST
Nickeil Alexander-Walker: 14 PTS, 3 BLK
Naz Reid: 14 PTS, 4 BLK pic.twitter.com/PV8incl7aF— NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2024
Karl-Anthony Towns also scored 27 in what was a comfortable night for the Western Conference’s No.3 seed despite missing three-time defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert.
The Nuggets struggled to get going all night and were down as many as 30 points at one stage of the match, with Jokic only managing to score 16 points and Jamal Murray was limited to eight.
On the East Coast, Jalen Brunson was the star for the Knicks and recorded his fourth-straight 40-point game in a 121-117 win.
He becomes the fourth player in NBA play-off history to achieve that feat, equaling Jerry West, Bernard King and Michael Jordan.
Donte Di Vincenzo and Josh Hart made up most of the other points – combining for 49.
Myles Turner was the top scorer for the Pacers with 23 and Pascal Siakam hit 19 as they Indiana team led for large periods of the game, only for the home side to fight back in the fourth quarter.
They had the chance to win the game with just a few seconds to go but Turner was called up on a moving screen that allowed Brunson to win the game from the free-throw line.
