Nikola Jokic’s 25-point triple-double and 30 points from Jamal Murray propelled the Denver Nuggets to a 116-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in their NBA playoff opener on Saturday.
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Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic added 13 rebounds and 11 assists, shaking off a slow start that saw him score justsix points in the first half to help the Nuggets pull away in a game tied 62-62 at halftime.
Murray scored 17 of his 30 in the first half to keep the Nuggets close, finishing a perfect 16 of 16 from the free-throw line.
The third playoff series in four seasons between the teams got off to a physical start at Denver’s Ball Arena, with more than 40 fouls called, a flagrant foul called on Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels and a technical on Denver coach David Adelman.
The Nuggets trailed by as many as 12 in the first quarter before bearing down in the second period and pulling away afterthe break.
Adelman was pleased with the way his team responded after the early punch from the visitors.
“Winning a grimy game, it’s good,” Adelman said. “Both teams are experienced and used to winning these games. They know what it means to play in a physical match-up. There’s a respect on both sides. There’s also a want to win.
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 22 points and Rudy Gobert added a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, but ultimately they couldn’t find an answer for Jokic.
“(Jokic) is such a patient player,” Adelman said.
“Early it was a lot of our guys making plays for each other and as theychanged their coverages then he went to work.” The Nuggets, who beat Minnesota in the 2023 playoffs on the way to the NBAtitle, then lost to them the following year, host game two of the best-of-seven Western Conference series on Monday.
In the Eastern Conference, the third-seeded New York Knicks and fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers opened with comfortable victories.
Jalen Brunson scored 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 25 for the Knicks in a 113-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden.
Brunson scored 19 points in the first quarter to help the Knicks emerge from the back-and-forth period with a 30-24 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Towns stepped it up in the second half, scoring 19 points in the second half to keep things rolling for a Knicks team aiming to improve on their trip to last year’s Eastern Conference finals.
CJ McCollum scored 26 points to lead the Hawks.
Australian Dyson Daniels, meanwhile registered nine rebounds and 11 assists to go with three steals across 36 minutes.
Teammate and fellow Boomer Jock Landale missed the game due to injury. He is expected to miss the first round.
In Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points to fuel the Cavaliers in a 126-113 win over the Toronto Raptors.
James Harden added a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds and Max Strus scored 24 points off the bench for the Cavs,who host game two.
RJ Barrett scored 24 points for the Raptors, who never led after the opening minutes and trailed by as many as 24.
Mitchell has now scored at least 30 points in an NBA record nine straight playoff series openers.
“You see the focus,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said of Mitchell. “How he just gets more locked-in than ever.”
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The final game of the day saw the West’s fourth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers defear the Houston Rockets 107 to 98
The series was billed as a matchup of old foes LeBron James and Kevin Durant. But Rockets star Durant was ruled out of gameone with a bruised knee suffered in practice.
“Hopefully it’s a one-game thing,” coach Ime Udoka said.
James, 41 and playing in his unprecedented 23rd season, is in the playoffs for a record-equaling 19th time and chasing a fifth NBA title.
James and son Bronny even took the court together in the second quarter in what many saw as a message to Rockets coach Udoka after he baited Reddick the 21-year-old in the game when the two sides faced off in March.
“JJ. JJ. Put that mothafucka in. Put that little b—- in. Please put him in,” Udoka was reported to have said.
LeBron finished with 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds while Luke Kennard stepped up in the absence of injured duo Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to register 27 points including 5/5 from three.