Rudy Gobert on not being named a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year: “Not the first time I get disrespected, probably not the last.” Asked about how he stopped Jokic late. Joked that “I got lucky.”

I think the Timberwolves performance in postgame interviews topped their performance on the floor tonight.

Jaden McDaniels, deadpan delivery, on what worked for the Timberwolves offensively. Jaden: “Go at Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders. Tim Hardaway, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, their whole team.” Q: They’re all bad defenders? Jaden: “Yeah, they’re all bad defenders.”

Wolves have been really good with challenges all year, that one was dubious from the start.

It's game like this that are also why whoever wins this series may have nothing left for the next round.

Both teams are 29-62 from the floor.

Jokic wanted a delay of game on Ant there, didn't get it.

The absence of Gobert catching up now to the Wolves, who can't guard Jokic this quarter.

We've gotten to the point in the game in which Tony Brothers has had enough and starts waving people back to their benches.

Timberwolves are 9-for-15 at the line.

Sometimes, there are moments in a series where you feel as if series are truly won or lost in that game and the rest is playing out the string ... Game 4 vs. OKC, Game 3 GSW, Game 4 Lakers, Game 2 Dallas in 2024. This feels like one of those games.

Reminder you can follow all our Wolves and Wild playoff coverage via live blog throughout the postseason. Here's the Wolves one up and going now: www.startribune.com/live-blog-mi...

Wolves had been so great attacking the rim all quarter then the last three possessions here they just settled for threes.

NOW, Anthony Edwards is looking like his old self.

Well, they've done what they had to do with Jokic off the floor. Cut the lead to 8.

That was a long way to get 4 points on one possession.

Wolves down 39-25 after one. Fight back or let go of the rope? We'll see.

Bones Hyland picks up his third foul, a charge when the Wolves had a 3-on-1 fast break.

They've also made the shots too. So foul or no foul, three points for the blue team.

The Timberwolves have fouled Denver while shooting threes three times this quarter and Denver has made each of them. Murray twice and now Hardaway.

Bad Wolves offense leading to transition for Denver, who is up 17-11 early.

Nickeil!

This is a totally fair criticism of the state of officiating - flopping and embellishing contact is rewarded. But I don’t love that it’s one of the main topics since Denver (Murray specifically) was much more aggressive at attacking defenders and the Wolves ( Ant/Julius) were too passive.

Then Finch he sometimes doesn't know what to tell players when it seems like they defended a play the right way. Then he added: "Maybe we ought to start flopping too."

Chris Finch with thoughts on state of officating: "The league is in a place right now where you draw the contact, you spill away & you get rewarded. Guys who try to play through contact, that 1st level of contact, and stay with the drive & all that, they tend not to be rewarded."

Little bit of Anthony Edwards and others at shootaround … shooting around.

I may not have gone to church regularly in 20 years, but that didn’t stop me from ranking Catholic Church bangers in a group chat today.

I appreciate that, unfortunately our bosses have noticed that ppl don’t subscribe in large enough numbers for Timberwolves coverage and have made coverage decisions accordingly based on that information.

The Timberwolves are accustomed to seeing supernova playoff performances from Anthony Edwards. But if he’s finding a rhythm post-injury, the rest of the group has to step up and play consistent ball to beat Denver. They weren’t quite good enough in Game 1 www.startribune.com/all-too-fami...

Not to pick too much on our pal Liam here, but one of the things that I disagree with from a fan perspective is when they think athletes SHOULD act a certain way after games, especially tough losses. Everyone is different, lives their lives differently, and maybe having humor is how you bounce back?

Anthony Edwards on how his knee felt, if he was fatigued and the effect of fouling Murray on the Wolves overall. (And for those who know the meme, he also took a sip of Gatorade!)

Some Ayo Dosunmu postgame today, talking about what the Wolves needed to do better and what they can carry over into Game 2.

Chris Finch says the team had to be more composed down the stretch of its Game 1 loss to Denver.

When the Timberwolves called timeout, Ant launched a half-court shot after the whistle. Jokic went running to Zach Zarba to get the technical, but it wasn't called.

Mike Conley came to play.

Jaden McDaniels shoves Nikola Jokic, drawing a technical foul. They'll be reviewing it for further penalties.

Wolves are 2-for-16 in this quarter.

Dosunmu checks in for Ant at the 5:40 mark. That's an early exit for Ant in the third.

Wolves with some less than stellar shot selection

It's tied at 62 at the half. A 39-point second quarter for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray is 11-for-11 at the free-throw line. 8 of those came in the second.

Nikola Jokic draws his first of potentially several Timberwolves delay of games in this series.

The NBA put out its points of emphasis for officials leading into the playoffs yesterday. One of them was the "high five" foul and Reid committed a textbook example of that. Tie game now.

Big couple of minutes as Denver wins the minutes Jokic rested by 7.

Pretty significant challenge here for Denver. Gordon could end up with his third if they lost it. Adelman already T'd up for his reaction to that call.

Wolves won that challenge and got a foul on Jokic. Two of three participants involved in the Jaden McDaniels non-proximite foul rule from 2 playoffs ago (McDaniels and Zach Zarba) are here for that call.

They call a Flagrant 1 on McDaniels on that closeout. Said there was a high potential for injury.

Three fouls in 1:11 for the Wolves.

We're doing a live blog format throughout all the playoffs (for Wolves and Wild). Always a fun way to cover big events like this. Following along here: www.startribune.com/minnesota-ti...

Denver coach David Adelman on what he did the last 24 hours: helped his son with an art project, watched some of the new “Scrubs.” “It’s OK,” he said. (Said the last day isn’t as stressful because your week of preparation is in the books)

Anthony Edwards going through his end of warmup ritual — halfcourt shooting contest with James “Flight” White. Ant takes the L today.