One team came in hungry from the start, counterpunched and fought back, then took charge in the last moments to seal the victory.

Furthermore, that group wasn’t the reigning NBA champs.

Rather, what the Timberwolves demonstrated in the first game of the Western Conference semifinals is that they don’t fear the situation, the location, or most importantly, the opposition.

With a decisive 106-99 victory, Anthony Edwards and the Wolves took command of the series and put the Nuggets in a situation they haven’t been in since the previous postseason.

Five things to remember from Game 1, where Minnesota defeated Denver to win homecourt advantage:

1. Nuggets must respond to Ant.

From the beginning, the main focus of this series was Nikola Jokic and how to slow down the big man since, well, he’s the current Finals MVP and a two-time Kia MVP.

However, if the Nuggets can contain Edwards, perhaps the script has shifted in his favor.

He scored 25 of his team’s 40 points in the first half, dominating the game. Denver struggled in the third quarter. Edwards now has the second-most 35-point playoff games in NBA history before turning 23 with six, following only Luka Doncic’s seven, after scoring 43 points.

But like the Suns in the opening round, Denver may find itself frantically trying to come up with a plan for Edwards after only one game in this series. For their somewhat tiny defenders (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), he is too strong and rough, and for their taller defenders (Michael Porter Jr. and others), he is too quick to react.

Without a doubt, Edwards is attempting to elevate his basketball stature in comparison to another great player. Initially, it was Kevin Durant; Edwards verbally abused the respectable Suns forward and informed him of it.

Jokic is doing it this time, and although the Nuggets center isn’t guarding Edwards one-on-one, they are sharing the court.

It’s always enjoyable to take on the world’s greatest player, he remarked. It’s always enjoyable to play against the greatest squad. It will be a battle because I was defeated by these men the previous year and they are the reigning champions.

If that’s the case, Edwards won the opening round via TKO.

2. Naz was amiable

You saw why Naz Reid was the recipient of this year’s Kia Sixth Man Award once more. Karl-Anthony Towns, who fouled out for a considerable amount of the fourth quarter, was replaced by him once more, and the Wolves didn’t lose a beat.

Reid’s 14 points in the quarter were vital for a club lacking in offensive depth. Reid scored just less than ten points per game on average during the Suns’ first-round series, to put things into perspective.

However, he is more than capable; he is an athletic big man with improved mid-range shooting, deep shooting ability, and a willingness to challenge guys at the rim.

Late in the season, Reid filled in for Towns while he was sidelined for over three weeks. He not only performed admirably, but he also kept the Wolves competitive for the top seed in the West. He is bringing the best off-the-bench credentials to this series, which gives the Wolves a clear advantage.

Edwards stated that “he remained patient.” “Naz has experienced significant growth. He wasn’t bothered by anything. You will eventually learn the game if you have patience.

3. Murray worries about the Nuggets

Is Jamal Murray ready to travel at all? Not in the sense of availability (he dressed for the first game), but rather in terms of his physical condition?

After straining his calf during the Lakers’ first-round series, he stopped practicing. Furthermore, he failed to score in the first half of Saturday’s game for the first time in his playoff career, which raised questions about his energy and motor for the remainder of this series as well as for this game.

Recall that there is just a single day off in between Games 1 and 2. During the three off-days between 2 and 3, he will get a break. But with two games remaining in Minneapolis, the Nuggets may already be behind 0–2 if he fails once more.

That would be bad news for Murray and them. The good news is that he scored 17 points and was much more active in the second half of the game. Even so, he will need to expend a lot of energy playing defense in order to stay up with a speedy guard like Conley, who finished with 14 points and 10 assists.

“Knowing we could throw three guys at him, we wanted to be as physical as we could with him,” Wolves assistant coach Micah Nori, who replaced head coach Chris Finch due to injury, stated. “Aim to exhaust him.”

4. Joker spared Wolves

Jokic was a worry going into this game, but he wasn’t an issue. He didn’t control the game to the same extent as Edwards, impacting just a few possessions and periods.

For the Wolves, who can throw more size against Jokic than most teams, it is a win in and of itself, and it partially succeeded one game into the series.

Towns was put on Jokic by Minnesota, who quickly got him into foul trouble. The Wolves had no issues since Rudy Gobert and Reid also existed, providing Jokic with a different-looking defenseman and making the two-time MVP adapt.

How Jokic would respond to those various looks for the remainder of this series was questioned.

“To possess a duplicate clone of my own body,” he stated.

Jokic’s just nine assists indicate that he did not place as many teammates in their typical positions to cause damage, which is even better news for the Wolves. From the beginning, Minnesota’s approach was to allow Joker to score his points, but not to get many or many assists.

Furthermore, Jokic was only 11 out of 29 times successful in connecting when he did shoot.

5. Wolves boosting self-assurance

It’s not a good idea to overthink a single game. A series can change quickly; this occurs frequently.

But one thing is certain: the Wolves are up to the task. Neither Jokic nor the Nuggets’ performance from a year ago, when they defeated the Wolves in the playoffs and won the title, intimidates them.

Everything has changed since then: Edwards, the Wolves’ dedication to defense, Minnesota’s bench (in contrast to the Nuggets’ thin bench), etc.

This team endured a road game, had to deal with Towns’ foul trouble, witnessed a strong second half from Conley and Reid, had Edwards take the lead as the team’s most dangerous player, and saw a blazing efficiency rate in the final two quarters.

Michael Malone, the coach of the Nuggets, stated, “I know 71% in the second half is unacceptable.”

That’s not likely to happen in Minnesota again. However, the Wolves have already warned the Nuggets that a fight is imminent.