The Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated the Denver Nuggets from the playoffs on Thursday, and Jaden McDaniels is now rubbing salt on their wounds. McDaniels appeared on NBA Today on Friday, where Malika Andrews asked him if he would call Timberwolves-Nuggets a rivalry.
“Yeah, I would say you could say it’s a rivalry,” McDaniels said. “I mean, it’s up there now. I don’t know if we can anymore after we beat them like two, three times, but it’s cool.”
The Nuggets had beaten the Timberwolves 4-1 in the first round back in 2023, but the tables have turned since. The Timberwolves beat them 4-3 in the Western Conference semifinals in 2024 and then 4-2 here in the first round.
Andrews wanted to know whether McDaniels thinks the Nuggets aren’t in the Timberwolves’ class anymore because they have beaten them in the last two playoff series between the teams.
“Basically,” McDaniels said.
McDaniels had already given the Nuggets plenty of bulletin board material, but he isn’t stopping. Perhaps with how they failed to respond during the series, the 25-year-old isn’t too worried.
McDaniels first threw shade after Game 2 by saying everyone on the Nuggets is a bad defender. While they shrugged off the comment publicly, it might have actually ruffled a few feathers.
Then, at the end of Game 4, McDaniels enraged Nikola Jokic by breaking the unwritten rule by scoring instead of dribbling out the clock. Jokic angrily confronted him, sparking an all-out brawl.
All of this ensured McDaniels was going to get a frosty reception once the series shifted back to Denver. He was booed during Game 5, and “McDaniels sucks” chants even broke out. McDaniels claimed he was feeding on the hate and boldly stated they were going to win the next game. It sure didn’t look like they were going to.
The Timberwolves had already lost Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVicenzo for the rest of the series in Game 4, and then had to rule out Ayo Dosunmu and Kyle Anderson for Game 6. Dosunmu had scored 43 points in their huge Game 4 win to put them up 3-1, and all these absences appeared to ensure we were getting a Game 7.
McDaniels, though, had other ideas. He erupted for a career-high 32 points (13-25 FG) and also racked up 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block to power the Timberwolves to victory. To go with the offense, McDaniels also shut down Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who finished the night with just 12 points on 4-17 shooting from the field. It was a masterclass from the Timberwolves forward.
For the series, McDaniels averaged 17.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. He has now helped set up a clash with the mighty San Antonio Spurs in the Conference semifinals. McDaniels isn’t throwing any shade at the Spurs just yet.
“I would say if we stay together, we stay locked in and just be listening to our coach and just stay together, that’s what got us through this series, through injuries, through everything, so us staying together, I feel like we could beat anybody,” McDaniels said.
The Spurs are firm favorites, especially with Edwards set to miss the start of the series. He is dealing with a bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee, and it’s hard to see a scenario in which the Timberwolves beat this juggernaut without him. Confidence will be sky high, though, after pulling off this stunning upset.
Game 1 is on Monday at Frost Bank Center.
