The Minnesota Timberwolves opened their 2026 NBA Playoffs run with a 116-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the 3-6 matchup in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves are the road team and enjoyed an early lead before the Nuggets clawed back into the game and executed the win to start their revenge for their 2024 Playoff loss at the hands of the Anthony Edwards-led Wolves.
Edwards had a disappointing Playoff opener against Denver, putting up 22 points (7-19 FG), nine rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks as Minnesota’s offense ran out of steam. They’ll have to be ready for a tough Game 2 at the Ball Arena in Denver, especially with Edwards’ take on the referees in this series.
After the loss, Edwards spoke to the media in his post-game press conference, reacting to Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray (30 PTS, 7-22 FG, 16-16 FT) attempting 16 free throws by himself. The 25-year-old Wolves star made it clear that his team can’t be upset at losing due to the referees, since they need to go into every game with the expectation that the referees won’t be on their side.
“We expected it to be a game like this. If that’s the case, then we weren’t mentally ready because we knew how it was going to go, and that they’re gonna get foul calls, and we might not get none, and that’s okay. We gotta be ready for that and mentally prepared for it to go their way and not go our way, and we should be okay with that.”
This is a very mature take from Edwards, as we’ve seen multiple players complain endlessly about the NBA’s refereeing. Edwards is accepting the fact that there will be games where he and his team feel shortchanged by the officials, but every team should indeed game-plan in a way that their offense can keep going even when there are challenges like the one the Timberwolves encountered in Game 1.
The Nuggets shot 30-33 from the free-throw line as a team compared to Minnesota’s 14-19. Denver got 25.8 (fourth-highest) free throw attempts per game during the regular season, while the Wolves got 25.3 FTA per game (sixth-highest).
Edwards personally attempted seven free throws. He’ll have to lead by example on the court to have a chance to beat the Nuggets, but that might be harder than expected, as he is also recovering from a knee injury, which doesn’t appear to be fully healed at this time.
Edwards averaged 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in the regular season. He’d likely have been a candidate for an All-NBA selection, but the NBA didn’t grant him the same exception they did Cade Cunningham and Luka Doncic to maintain their eligibility. Although Doncic and Cunningham both played 64 regular-season games compared to Edwards’ 61 games.
An All-NBA team selection would feel hollow if Edwards couldn’t lead his Timberwolves to at least the second round after making the Western Conference Finals for the last two seasons.
