Denver Nuggets welcome break before rematch with Minnesota Timberwolves

There’s only one Nuggets starter who’s not looking forward to the extended break before Game 1 against Minnesota Saturday at Ball Arena.

“I definitely didn’t want to play Thursday (in a Game 6 at in Los Angeles),” Nikola Jokic said after the Nuggets eliminated the Lakers on Monday at Ball Arena. “I would like to play Minnesota in two or three days. I don’t like five days off. My body thinks it’s a rest.”

Denver’s other starters feel differently.

Jamal Murray played more than 40 minutes and hit the game-winner, despite being questionable up until an hour before tipoff with a left calf strain.

“Kid’s a warrior, man,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

It wouldn’t be the only time Malone used that word to describe one of his players.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left the game a couple of times after tweaking something in his left ankle in the first quarter. The second time, the veteran shooting guard headed right to the tunnel to receive more testing and treatment.

“We had a lot of guys that were getting banged up along the way,” Malone said. “I didn’t know who the hell we were going to finish the game with.”

Caldwell-Pope said he was “pretty close” to not playing in the second half, but he was on the court to start the third quarter and finished with nearly 33 minutes of playing time. He will be a big part of round two, as 'KCP' likely will serve as the primary defender on Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.

“KCP is a warrior,” Malone said. “He didn’t shoot the ball as well as we all know that he can, but when he’s not making shots, he's making life hell for his opponent and his matchup.”

Caldwell-Pope made just two of his 10 shots, but both were big buckets in the second half. After missing a clean 3, his sixth straight miss to start the game and with the Nuggets down six in the middle of the third quarter, he chased down his miss and made a layup. His next shot came in the middle of the fourth quarter with the Nuggets down two. Murray rebounded his own miss and kicked it out to Caldwell-Pope, who gave the Nuggets the lead with his only 3 of the game.

“I was just trying to get through it,” Caldwell-Pope said of playing through the pain. “Mostly, I was trying to focus on defense, but offense, if I’m open, shoot the ball whether it goes in or not.”

Neither Aaron Gordon nor Michael Porter Jr., played through an injury in Game 5, and Malone leaned heavily on his healthy bodies.

Porter closed the best playoff series of his career with 26 points on 12 shots, including a 5-for-7 mark from 3, and he played nearly 46 of the possible 48 minutes.

“We don’t get to that (Murray) shot without everybody pitching in,” Murray said.

“AG had a huge rebound. Like, I can’t tell you how big that rebound was. Mike hit a few huge 3s.”

Gordon played all but 1 minute, 38 seconds, of the game. He still had enough juice to wrestle away a contested offensive rebound, his fifth offensive rebound of the game and 13th overall, away from LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell in the final 90 seconds. After securing possession, Gordon kicked the ball out to Murray, who made a 3 that put Denver up two with just over a minute remaining, for his sixth assist of the game.

“He made winning plays,” Jokic said. “He accepted the role. He knows what he’s doing. I think that’s a great teammate, great player that’s sacrificing himself for something bigger than just stats.”

It looks like the Timberwolves will be at a health and rest advantage heading into the second-round rematch of last year’s first-round series.

Minnesota has an extra day off after sweeping the Suns in four games, and Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, neither of whom played in last year’s five-game Denver triumph, are key parts of the rotation. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, who reportedly ruptured his patella tendon late in Sunday’s Game 4 in Phoenix, appears to be the only member of the team dealing with an injury.

“Shoutout to Chris Finch. I hope he’s doing OK with that scary injury on the sideline last night,” Malone said of his former assistant before turning his attention back to his team.

“If you can get some rest — mental and physical — this time of the year, that’s so important. We’ll need the rest as we get ready for Game 1.”