3 Nuggets Players Who Will Decide Game 3 vs. Timberwolves

The Denver Nuggets head to the Twin Cities for Game 3 of their first-round series vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves, having the action tied up at 1-1 after letting go of a 19-point lead in their previous outing, and look to flip the script on Thursday night for a leg up in homecourt advantage once again.

But the Nuggets taking care of business will be much easier said than done after the way things played out in Game 2.

Minnesota proved with a physical first two games in the Mile High that they won't be letting up easy. And now as the Nuggets walk into the Target Center for a defining game of the series, they'll rely on a handful of key players to rise up to the occasion for a standout night to regain control with a 2-1 lead.

With that in mind, here's a look at three players that could make or break the Nuggets' chances against the Timberwolves in Game 3–– none of which are named Nikola Jokic:

Tim Hardaway Jr.

Fresh off of his Sixth Man of the Year snub, Tim Hardaway Jr. will have no better opportunity to shine in his role as an impactful bench contributor than in a night on a national stage where the Nuggets will desperately need his shot-making ability more than ever.

The Nuggets haven't been able to reach over 37% as a team from three in either of Game 1 or 2, and fell flat offensively in a major way in the second half of their latest loss, where they shot a combined 5-21 from deep. Replicating that effort will be the last thing David Adelman has in mind.

Hardaway held up his end in Game 2 with a perfect 3-3 clip, but slotting him into a bigger focal point of the offense could assist Denver's scoring attack tremendously, and create massive and much-needed scoring lift on the road.

Aaron Gordon

It's never uncommon for Aaron Gordon to be the X-factor of the Nuggets' success, but it comes even more pivotal with the overarching implications of Game 3.

And coming off a clunker in his latest outing where he had just eight points on 3-9 shooting from the field and a 1-4 clip from three, it makes the weight of needing a bounceback game to come to form even greater.

If Gordon can remain a positive offensive player by spacing the floor and hitting his shots, while also keyed in as a versatile chess piece defensively, that gives Denver a huge advantage in their myriad of ways to attack Minnesota on both sides of the ball.

Jamal Murray

Jamal Murray's first two games of the series have come with some high highs and some low lows.

Murray started things off by rattling off a 30-point performance in Denver's Game 1 win while also setting the franchise record for most free throws made, and most made without a miss in a single playoff game (16). He also shot a brutal 0-8 from three that kept his night from being even better.

In Game 2, he started the first half with a strong 23 points to pair with a much-improved 5-7 clip from deep, but paired that with an awful second half where he had 7 points and shot 3-11 from the field, and had a plus-minus of -10 while playing out the entire fourth quarter.

Murray has to be more consistent in these thin-margin games against Minnesota for the Nuggets to claw their way through the series. He's proven capable of taking his craft to the next level all season long, but now is not the time to flip the switch off.

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