Timberwolves force Game 7 by blowing out Nuggets 115-70 behind 27 points from Anthony Edwards

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards flashed seven fingers to the roaring crowd as he walked off for a fourth-quarter timeout during a blowout by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He had that tenacious look of a superstar player refusing to cede to the defending champs all night.

Edwards scored 27 points to pull the Timberwolves out of their mid-series slump and deliver a flawless 115-70 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday to force a Game 7 in this roller-coaster matchup.

Jaden McDaniels pitched in 21 points and lockdown defense, and Mike Conley had 13 points in his return from injury. Big men Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid combined for 38 rebounds and a relentless effort to keep NBA MVP Nikola Jokic to a relatively quiet 22 points.

The Wolves posted the largest winning margin in a postseason game since 2015, when Chicago beat Milwaukee by 54 points in a first-round series clincher, according to Sportradar.

“Guys just believing in themselves,” Edwards said. “I think the last three games we were all down on ourselves.”

The decisive game for a spot in the Western Conference finals is in Denver on Sunday night. Just as Edwards promised the locker room staffer at Ball Arena after the Wolves lost in Game 5.

Jamal Murray struggled again with 10 points on 4-for-18 shooting while battling a sore elbow for the Nuggets, whose bench was outscored 36-9 — and seven of those points came in the final five minutes. The Wolves reserves led a 24-0 run in the fourth quarter on the way to a staggering 50-point lead, a fitting follow-up to the 20-0 surge the starters led in the opening frame.

“We talked a lot today just about getting our edge back, our swagger, playing a little more free and easy,” coach Chris Finch said. “It just felt like we hadn’t had our best effort on both sides of the ball yet.”

No defending NBA champion had ever lost in the playoffs by more than 36 points until this flop by the Nuggets, who were outrebounded 62-43.

“That to me speaks volumes about the game and our approach,” Denver coach Mike Malone said.

Aaron Gordon had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who finished just 7 for 36 from 3-point range and trailed by at least 17 points for the last 31 minutes of the game.

For the Wolves, offense from McDaniels is typically a bonus, but he can’t be as quiet as he was over the first five games with a total of 35 points. He was all over the court this time, going 3 of 5 from deep and mixing in some well-timed dunks to ignite the crowd.

Edwards, whose 44-point performance was ultimately wasted in a Game 4 loss the last time he played at Target Center, had nine points in the 20-0 spurt and needed only nine shots from the floor to get 19 points in the first half.

“Just shoot it every chance I get, because last game they took the ball out of my hands,” Edwards said.

In the third quarter, he turned a steal into a fast break before using two crossover dribbles to get Michael Porter Jr. in the air and blow by him for a dunk. A few minutes later, he drove past Porter to draw a foul and landed hard on his back. The Wolves called timeout to give Edwards more time to catch his breath, and when he walked back on the court without missing time the “MVP!” chants fired up.

The Wolves were frequently in disarray on offense during Game 5 in Denver while Conley sat out with right leg soreness, and the 17-year veteran point guard clearly helped keep the half-court sets crisp and organized in his return.

“It was a no-brainer. I was going to try to find a way,” Conley said. “We’re just better when we’re a complete team.”

The Wolves held the Nuggets to 14 points in the first quarter, tied for the second-lowest total in the league this postseason behind Miami (12 points) in a Game 3 loss to Boston in the first round.

Murray had a devil of a time doing anything productive against McDaniels, Edwards and the rest of the NBA-leading defense that snapped to life after revealing some sizeable cracks over the last three games.

Murray, who had a 3-for-18 clunker in Game 2, tried everything from leaners, fadeaways and spot-up 3-pointers. He even air-balled a finger roll from the baseline, then got backed down in a bad matchup by Naz Reid in the post on the subsequent possession for a flip-in that put the Wolves up 43-24.

McDaniels tipped in a missed 3-pointer by Reid at the halftime buzzer to make it 59-40, a sharp contrast from the 55-foot swish Murray had at the end of the second quarter in Game 3 to cap an 8-0 run over 20 pivotal seconds of that contest.

“Speaking from experience,” Murray said, “Game 6 is always the hardest.”

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Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels dunks against the Denver Nuggets during the second half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) shoots over Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) during the second half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray walks on the court during the first half of Game 6 of the team's NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone watches during the first half of Game 6 of the team's NBA basketball second-round playoff series, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic reacts toward a referee during the first half of Game 6 of the team's NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) works toward the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns defends during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards dunks against then Denver Nuggets during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edward, left, runs down the court after making a 3-point shot against the Denver Nuggets during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Lauren Coughlin held onto the lead Friday in the CPKC Women’s Open, while Canadian star Brooke Henderson was derailed by closing bogeys at windy and smokey Earl Grey Golf Club.

Coughlin followed her opening 4-under 68 on Thursday in chilly and windy conditions with a 70 on Friday to get to 6 under, a stroke ahead of Hannah Green and Haeran Ryu. The temperature made it into the 70s after barely climbing into the 60s on Thursday.

“I think I handled it really well overall,” Coughlin said. “It was just really difficult to judge how far the ball was going to go with the wind and the crosswind and how firm the greens got. And they had some tough pins, especially considering the direction of the wind.”

Playing through a smokey haze from wildfires, Henderson bogeyed the final four holes in her afternoon round for a 73 that left her seven strokes back at 1 over. She won the 2018 tournament.

“Most of the day I was 3 under, so feeling pretty great,” Henderson said. “To walk away 1 over, that’s not the best feeling. But all you can do is move forward and try to learn from some of the things you did out there.”

Coughlin is coming off a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in France in the major Evian Champions. The 31-year-old former University of Virginia player is winless on the LPGA Tour.

On Friday, she had three front-none birdies and dropped a stroke on the par-4 11th. In two rounds, she's 7 under on the first nine holes and 1 over on the second nine.

“I putted extremely well,” Coughlin said. “Two-putted really well all day. Took advantage of the front nine, which you have to, and then kind of hold on on the back nine.”

Green matched Coughlin with a 70. The Australian is a two-time winner this year, taking the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore in February and the JM Eagle LA Championship in April.

“It was tough again out there,” Green said. “There was some pretty strong wind gusts, especially our last few holes, so committing to the shot you were envisioning was kind of difficult.”

Ryu bogeyed the 18th for 69.

“The weather is really bad,” Ryu said. “Is a little bit cold and so windy.”

The 23-year-old South Korean player won the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last year for her first LPGA Tour title. She was second last week in Ohio in the Dana Open.

Three-time champion Lydia Ko had a 71 to join second-ranked Lilia Vu (70) and Jennifer Kupcho (72) at 3 under. Ko won as an amateur in 2012 at age 15, successfully defended her title as an amateur in 2013 and won as a professional in 2015.

“It’s not easy — and I think the scores are showing,” Ko said. “Anything kind of under par the past couple days is a really solid round. I’m pretty happy with the way I started this week.”

Kupcho topped the leaderboard at 8 under after birdieing five of the first eight holes in her morning round, then was 5 over the rest of the way. She had a double bogey on the par-4 16th, four bogeys and a birdie on her final nine holes.

“I’m pretty upset,” Kupcho said. “I think in hindsight I still hit 15 greens. Like I was hitting the ball really good. Three-putted 10 and 11 and four-putted 16. I didn’t play bad. Just had a couple shaky putts down the stretch — and that’s going to happen.”

Lexi Thompson was in the group with Henderson tied for 26th at 1 over after a 73 The American plans to play a limited schedule after this season.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Lexi Thompson, of the United States, chips on the first hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Jennifer Kupcho, of the United States, watches her tee shot on the fifteenth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Jennifer Kupcho, of the United States, lines up a putt on the fourteenth green during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

New Zealand's Lydia Ko hits a tee shot on the first hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press via AP)

Korea's Haeran Ryu hits a tee shot on the fourth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada's Brooke Henderson hits a tee shot on the second hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Lauren Coughlin, of the United States, hits from the fairway on the sixth hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Lauren Coughlin, of the United States, hits a tee shot on the seventh hole during the second round at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open golf tournament in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)