The Good, Bad & Ugly From Nuggets' Game 2 Loss to Timberwolves

With a chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead, the Denver Nuggets lost control. The Minnesota Timberwolves got the best of the Nuggets in Game 2 in Denver, finishing with a 119-114 win to tie the series.

Before they head to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4, we will take a look at what went right and what went wrong in the Nuggets' Game 2 blunder. Here's what was good, bad, and ugly from Denver's crushing Game 2 loss to Minnesota.

The Good: Came out firing

After a gritty Game 1 win, the Nuggets wasted no time getting back into things in Game 2. Denver came out firing on Monday night, scoring 39 first-quarter points, highlighted by three four-point plays in two minutes by Jamal Murray and Tim Hardaway Jr.

3 4-POINT PLAYS FROM DENVER IN Q1 🤯

2 from Murray.
1 from Hardaway Jr.

Nuggets up 14 after 1Q in Game 2! pic.twitter.com/46lOsWGyFy
— NBA (@NBA) April 21, 2026

The Nuggets have had some slow starts throughout the season, but this first quarter was exactly what they needed. Murray finished the period with 11 points on 3-4 shooting from deep, while Christian Braun and Tim Hardaway Jr. dropped eight points apiece on combined 5-6 shooting.

The Nuggets jumped out to as much as a 19-point lead early in the second quarter, doing their job in the first 13 minutes of action. Of course, an NBA game is 48 minutes, which takes us to the bad.

The Bad: Blowing a lead

Before tip-off, if you were to hear the Nuggets went up by 19 points in the second quarter, you would assume they pulled out a win. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves prevailed. In fact, the Timberwolves came back to re-take the lead before halftime. Minnesota outscored Denver 39-25 in the second quarter to erase the big deficit.

The @nuggets lost a playoff game after leading by 19 points, the 2nd time in the last 3 home playoff games against the Timberwolves (led by 20 in game 7 in 2024 and lost).

Those two games are the two biggest blown leads in Denver playoffs since 1997.
— Statzman (@RealStatzman) April 21, 2026

The Nuggets have now blown two 19-point leads in the playoffs in the 21st century. Both of those games have come against the Timberwolves, with the other being in Game 7 of their 2024 series.

The Timberwolves clearly have the Nuggets' number, regardless of how much Denver leads by, and they need to learn how to close out these games. With high hopes for a championship run this postseason, the Nuggets will not be able to do anything if they cannot hold a 19-point lead for even a quarter.

The Ugly: Jokic and Murray in the clutch

With a chance to tie the game, down two points with just 20 seconds left, three-time MVP Nikola Jokic had a great look at a floater in the paint, with only Anthony Edwards there to contest the shot. However, he passed up the floater to Braun, who got fouled. Braun went on to miss one of the two free throws, keeping Minnesota's lead safe.

down 2 with 21.6 left on the shot clock and he passes up this floater pic.twitter.com/37tFzJ0PM5
— 𝙎𝙠𝙮𝙚𝙙 🇦🇺 (@SkyedOKC) April 21, 2026

In hindsight, this was a poor decision by Jokic, and he even admitted so after the game, saying, "I definitely should have taken that floater." Head coach David Adelman had a similar reaction, saying, "You always want him to shoot that shot."

Even looking past that one decision, Jokic and Murray struggled big time in the clutch. The two stars combined for just four points in the fourth quarter, shooting 2-12 from the field and 0-4 from three-point range. Granted, the Timberwolves' defense stepped up, holding Denver to just 21 points in the final period, but the NBA's best duo cannot crumble in the clutch like that.

This was a poor all-around performance by the Nuggets after the first quarter, and one they will have to bounce back from in Minnesota for Game 3 on Thursday.

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