Edwards and Randle rally Timberwolves past Nuggets 119-114 to even series at 1 apiece

DENVER (AP) — A big early deficit in Denver didn't bother the Minnesota Timberwolves, who two years ago staged the biggest Game 7 comeback in NBA history, clawing out of a 20-point hole to beat the Nuggets and advance to the Western Conference finals.

This time, they overcame a 19-point deficit, rallying past the Nuggets 119-114 on Monday night behind 30 points from Anthony Edwards and 24 from Julius Randle to tie their first-round playoff series at one game each.

“Just coming together, staying poised within those moments," Edwards said.

Jamal Murray scored 30 points for Denver, which had won 13 straight games since losing on March 18. The Nuggets jumped out to a 44-25 lead early in the second quarter only to see a potential laugher quickly turn into a head-scratcher.

After outscoring the Wolves 39-25 in the first, the Nuggets watched Minnesota flip that exact score in the second period.

“So, basically same quarters, first and second, just opposite teams,” said Nikola Jokic, who had 24 points, 15 boards and eight assists for the Nuggets.

After a slow start, Edwards looked much better than he did during his 22-point effort in Game 1, when his rust from a bum knee was apparent. This time, he drove to the basket more instead of settling for jumpers, fueling the comeback.

“He was awesome. It was unbelievable,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Also in that (first) period when we were down, he was great on the bench. Great leadership, positive. He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that."

Denver blew a chance to take control against its Northwest Division rival. The Nuggets are 8-0 in their history when winning the first two games of a playoff series, and the Wolves are 0-8 when dropping Games 1 and 2.

Edwards turned the ball over with 31 seconds left and Christian Braun got fouled at the other end after Jokic passed up a floater to tie it. Braun missed one of two free throws, leaving Denver trailing 115-114 with 19 seconds remaining.

Randle then sank two free throws and Donte DiVincenzo added a breakaway dunk to cap the comeback.

“I trust C.B. to make free throws,” Denver coach David Adelman said. “It rimmed out. That happens in the NBA. You're going to have moments that you don't want to remember. That's a tough moment for C.B. after playing such a good game."

Murray sank a 51-foot 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to tie it at 64. Jokic came on strong after a quiet start, scoring 16 points in the third quarter when Denver took a 93-90 lead. But the Nuggets' All-Star duo shot a combined 2 for 12 in the fourth quarter as the Wolves evened a best-of-seven series that shifts to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Thursday night.

“I feel like we had the game in hand,” Murray said, “and then we just didn't make our shots.”

Jaden McDaniels, who added 14 points for the Wolves, said the key to Minnesota's bounce-back was going "after Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders. Tim Hardaway, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team, just go at them. Yeah, they’re all bad defenders.”

Before tipoff, Finch complained for a third straight day about the free-throw disparity in Game 1, when the Nuggets outscored Minnesota 30-14 from the stripe. He cracked that maybe his players need to “start flopping, too.”

Each team went to the line 30 times Monday night.

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Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman reacts during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch reacts during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Denver Nuggets, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray prepares to shoot a 3-point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series Monday, April 20, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) looks to pass the ball over Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid, right, during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series Monday, April 20, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) drives to the basket against Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) during the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series Monday, April 20, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

The prospect of a second round of talks was uncertain Tuesday after Iran’s chief negotiator said Iran would not negotiate in the face of threats while U.S. President Donald Trump offered mixed messages about the path ahead for the U.S. war against Iran, declaring that he was in no rush to end the conflict.

Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker, wrote in a post on X early Tuesday that “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats,” and the Islamic Republic has been preparing “to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

Trump indicated that he still expects to dispatch his negotiating team, led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, to Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad for talks, even as Iran insisted it would not take part until the U.S. leader dialed back his demands. Trump said he’s “highly unlikely” to renew the ceasefire before it expires Wednesday.

Since the war started, fighting has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members throughout the region have been killed.

Here is the latest:

Iran said Tuesday it hanged a man convicted over allegedly setting fire to a mosque in northern Tehran during nationwide protests in January.

The judiciary’s Mizan news agency identified the man as Amir Ali Mir Jafari.

There was no immediate information about Jafari among activists who follow Iran.

Iran has been accused of repeatedly holding closed-door trials against suspects who can’t challenge the evidence placed against them.

Iran already has hanged people from the January protests, something that U.S. President Donald Trump had described as a red line before the recent war.

Shares are mixed in Asia and oil prices have slipped following the latest rise of U.S.-Iran tensions.

The lackluster start to trading Tuesday followed a modest retreat on Wall Street.

On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% from its all-time high and the Dow industrials edged less than 0.1% lower. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil remains above $95.

Trump attacked critics after a second round of talks with Iran was thrown into doubt by the U.S. Navy’s seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship.

Financial markets have had vicious swings, both up and down, since the war began because of uncertainty about how long it may last.

The fear is that a long-term disruption could keep so much oil and natural gas off global markets that it creates a punishing wave of inflation for the global economy.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Women share a moment as they look at a smartphone at the main gate of the Tehran University as a banner shows portraits of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, and the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman talks on her cellphone as she walks past a billboard showing Rais Ali Delvari, a national hero in an early 1900 uprising against British forces in southern Iran in the Persian Gulf, right, and the late Revolutionary Guard's navy chief Alireza Tangsiri, who was killed in the U.S.-Israeli strike in late March 2026, commanding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, on a building at a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A man mourns over the coffin of a Hezbollah fighter who was killed in the war between Hezbollah and Israel during a mass funeral in Bazouriyeh village, south Lebanon, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)