
Buoyed by Brunson, Knicks seal 'hard-fought win'
Knicks secure hard-fought win over Hawks in Game 1

The Timberwolves scored 62 points in the first half of Game 1 against the Nuggets but struggled in the third quarter, leading to a loss. Their offensive strategy relies on ball movement and creating easy scoring opportunities.
DENVER â Minnesota played beautiful offense in the first half of Game 1 on Saturday. The Wolves tallied 62 points while shooting 53% from the field. They recorded assists on 14 of their 23 made buckets.
Which is how itâs supposed to be for Minnesota against Denver. The Nuggets were a bottom 10 defense this season. They donât possess the athletes necessary to stay in front of the Wolves, nor the rim protection to defend the paint.
The Timberwolvesâ formula for offensive success in this matchup is simple. Swing the ball from one side of the floor to the other, play off the catch and punch gaps off the bounce. The end result of said process will regularly be layups and open threes, as demonstrated by Saturdayâs first half results.
âKeep the ball moving. Simple as that, keep the ball moving,â Wolves center Rudy Gobert said. âWe keep running transition, running for each other. We give ourselves great opportunities to get easy baskets, and for everybody to get going. I think thatâs when we are the most dangerous team. We saw that in the first half. I mean, we scored 62 points in the first half, and it wasnât like we were making hard shots, you know, it was just playing within the flow. Weâre getting threes, weâre getting layups, dunks.â
So what happened in the third? That was the quarter that ultimately lost Game 1 for Minnesota, as it went 6 for 23 from the field and logged just two assists to four turnovers.
âGuys were trying to get themselves going a little bit there, ball didnât move,â Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. âPlayed a lot of shell offense, a lot of guys stuck on the perimeter, not punching in the gaps, no movement. I thought we had really good ball movement in the first half, too, and it just kind of dried up. It really cost us, because it led to a lot of easy baskets for them being able to run out of our poor offense.â
Denver won the quarter by 12 points, and while Minnesota was able to get as close as two in the final frame, it ultimately couldnât overcome the margin.
Saturdayâs result was eerily similar to many of Minnesotaâs regular season matchups with Denver.
Oct. 27: Minnesota scored 65 first-half points, but just 49 in the second half â including 20 in the fourth quarter.
Nov. 15: Minnesota scored 60 first-half points, but just 52 in the second half â nine of which came in the final 94 seconds with the game already decided.
Dec. 25: Minnesota scored 55 first-half points, but just 23 in the third quarter.
Denver makes adjustments. Finch noted the Nuggets changed the matchups slightly in Saturdayâs second half. Perhaps the Wolves get bored or complacent with the successful process and abandon it in favor of isolation.
Whatever the reason, itâs a bad trend for Minnesota â one that wonât lead to long-term success in this series should it continue.
Anthony Edwards logged seven assists Saturday â âthatâs a lot of assists for me,â he noted. But five of those came in the first two quarters, with only two to follow. Edwards admitted he âmay haveâ taken a few ill-advised shots, but said that was in an effort to find his own rhythm.
The Timberwolves focus on ball movement, swinging the ball from side to side, and creating opportunities for layups and open threes.
In the first half of Game 1, the Timberwolves scored 62 points and shot 53% from the field with 14 assists on 23 made baskets.
The Timberwolves lost Game 1 due to a poor performance in the third quarter, shooting 6 for 23 from the field and recording only two assists.
Rudy Gobert emphasized the importance of keeping the ball moving and running in transition to create easy scoring opportunities.

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But those are the types of shots that let Denverâs ill-equipped defense off the hook and prevent the teamâs offense from sustaining its rhythm as a whole.
The defense was more than satisfactory Saturday in subduing the leagueâs top offense. Minnesota held the NBAâs best 3-point shooting team to just 32% accuracy from distance. It was the offenseâs deviation from the gameplan that ultimately sank the ship.
âItâs just something that we have to continue to buy into and we have to continue to understand that weâre at our best when the ball is moving side to side and they really canât defend us when the ball is moving side to side,â Wolves guard Ayo Dosunmu said. âThey want to be able to load up (so) they can be able to sit in those gaps. But when we get them moving side to side and we got them running through multiple pick and rolls and weâre getting shots and weâre getting downhill, thatâs when weâre at our best.â
The Wolves know that. They have ample proof of concept. This series will be determined by how frequently theyâre willing to follow the script. They were only 13th in offensive rating this season because that consistency didnât exist. If that doesnât change, this postseason run will be shorter than its predecessors.
âI think if you were to mentally, stay disciplined, mentally, stay poised and stay focused,â Gobert said, âyouâre gonna be fine.â