The Minnesota Timberwolves stole — no, ripped — Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals from the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night. Anthony Edwards scored 43 points on highly efficient shooting in clutch time to lead the way, but the second-half contributions of the supporting cast kept Minnesota within striking distance until that point.
Not only did shots just start falling for guys like Mike Conley, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid once the third quarter clock started running; the frequency and variability at which the Minnesota coaching staff put their ball-handlers and screeners into advantageous positions helped the Wolves employ sustainable offensive process pretty much all game.