Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky McDaniels Comes up Big Again as Minnesota Ousts Denver

The former UW forward came up with 23 points to share his team lead.
Dan Raley|
Ex-Husky forward Jaden McDaniels (3) goes up for a shot for the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets.
Ex-Husky forward Jaden McDaniels (3) goes up for a shot for the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets. | Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Making it extremely hard on themselves, the Minnesota Timberwolves fell behind by 20 points in Game 7 of their playoff series against the NBA defending champion Denver Nuggets on the road, but all was not lost.

On Sunday night, former Husky forward Jaden McDaniels and his teammates regrouped in shocking fashion and rescued an improbable 98-90 victory to eliminate Denver from the postseason.

For the second consecutive game, the 6-foot-9 McDaniels came up big, scoring 23 points this time to share team scoring honors with 7-foot center Karl-Anthony Towns and propel Minnesota into the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks, beginning on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

In 40 minutes of play in Game 7, McDaniels connected on 7 of 10 shots, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, grabbed 6 rebounds, stole the ball twice, handed out an assist and blocked a shot.

"I wouldn't call myself the MVP," he said. "I was just doing whatever I can to help this team win."

After scoring a collective 35 points in the first five games of the series, McDaniels provided 21- and 23-point outings to help pull the Timberwolves out of a 3-2 series deficit. He was good on a combined 15 of 20 from the field in the past two outings, including 6 of 9 treys.

Jaden McDaniels and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards share a playoff moment.
Jaden McDaniels and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards share a playoff moment. | Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

"Coach just said to have an even keel and that's what we do," McDaniels said, referring to Timberwolves leader Chris Finch. "We stayed together through the adversity and got back into the game."

The Timberwolves trailed 53-38 at halftime and the deficit grew to 58-38 in the third quarter before they the comeback began. Entering the fourth quarter, they still trailed 67-66. With 9:26 left to play, Minnesota went in front for good at 75-72 on Mike Conley's deep 3-pointer.

"It ain't the championship, but it's good to beat the defending champs," McDaniels said, "and show how good we can be."

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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