'A little adversity is good for us': Wolves regroup after Game 3 loss to Nuggets

Karl-Anthony Towns believes the loss will make Minnesota better.

May 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

No NBA team has ever gone 16-0 on its way to winning the NBA Finals.

As Karl-Anthony Towns put it, the odds weren't on the Wolves' side. The Denver Nuggets handed Minnesota its first loss of the postseason Friday, crushing the Wolves 117-90 in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series in front of a sold-out Target Center crowd in downtown Minneapolis.

Mike Conley said the Timberwolves came out flat. Anthony Edwards took blame for the loss. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said there weren't a lot of good things happening for Minnesota on either end of the floor. The Nuggets, meanwhile, found a rhythm early and a way to keep the Timberwolves out of rhythm. Game 3 looked a lot like Game 2, but with roles reversed.

But as poorly as things went for the Timberwolves Friday night, it can be important to keep things in perspective. It's just their first loss of the postseason. All season long, the Timberwolves have shown they're a team that can bounce back after disappointing losses.

"I know we showed a really good version of ourselves in Game 2, but we had to be an ever better version in Game 3 if we expected to beat a team like this and get up 3-0," Towns said. "So a little adversity is good for us."

That last line was something Towns reiterated throughout his postgame press conference. Friday's loss is the first real adversity the Timberwolves have faced this postseason. They swept the Phoenix Suns in their first-round series, and they took the first two games in Denver.

Towns said the loss will humble the team and teach them that they can't expect the same results every time out, even if they have been cruising their way through the playoffs thus far.

"Just because we've been fortunate to find ourselves on the winning end for six straight playoff games don't mean that the seventh, the eighth, the ninth, the 10th is going to be the same result," Towns said. "I think this is a great humbling experience for us, and the defending champs definitely gave us that experience, so it's going to make us hungry. I think it's going to make us a better team, it's going to make us show how connected we are and it's good for us. It's good for us, for sure."

The Timberwolves still have a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 is still going to be in Minneapolis. And while the Nuggets have some life, perhaps the loss is what the Timberwolves needed to remain hungry as they look to stretch out their playoff run through June. It's a marathon, not a sprint, after all.

Briefly

• Game 5 between the Timberwolves and Nuggets in Denver will be at 9:30 p.m. CST, the NBA announced following Friday night's game.