Sports

You Won't Believe What the Nuggets Did that Gave the Timberwolves Extra Motivation

By Stephen Douglas Sports Illustrated

The Timberwovles beat the Nuggets, 110-98, in Game 6 on Thursday night to win their first round series and advance to the Western Conference semifinals where they will face Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. Minnesota's win was especially impressive because they were down three key players in star Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo who started all 82 games during the regular season, and Ayo Dosunmu who was averaging 21.8 points and four assists a game in the series.

It was an accomplishment worth celebrating, but one of the first things coach Chris Finch mentioned in his postgame press conference was what Denver had done to motivate the Timberwolves. Considering all the talk about the unwritten rules that went on earlier in the series, it's no surprise that something the Nuggets did might not have sat well with the Timberwolves, but it turns out there might have been a little mental gymnastics done to find something worthy of going on the bulletin board.

"Our guys, they took it personal," said Finch. "I mean, Denver had the chance to pick who they wanted to play coming down the stretch and they chose us and we used that as motivation all the way through, preparation and through the series. They chose us. They didn't have to choose us. They chose us and our guys were up for the challenge of that."

On Mar. 18, the Nuggets lost to the Grizzlies to fall to 42-28 and fell to the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. They then went on a 12-game winning streak to close out the regular season and were able to climb for the No. 3 seed on Apr. 5. They ended up holding off the Lakers by one game in the standings to enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed.

So in an era where the NBA is trying to discourage losing games on purpose, the Nuggets kept winning in a tight playoff race where just two games ended up separated the Nuggets, Lakers and Rockets. And the Timberwolves apparently took that personally.

Told about the motivating factor in the Timberwolves' win, Cam Johnson was confused.

"By winning," Johnson asked. "Because we wanted to win? As players you're always going to try to win. If you're talking about San Antonio in specific, we have a group of guys that were playing that are fighting for their careers, that are fighting for their lives. No, they're never going to lay down. It's not about seeking a matchup for us, it's about winning the games that come our way."

Johnson was referring to the final game of the season where the Nuggets beat the Spurs, 128-118. The Nuggets started Nikola Jokic, but he only played 18 minutes while Julian Strawther, David Roddy, Jalen Pickett and Curtis Jones all played 30 or more minutes. Do you know what kind of mental gymnastics you have to do to use a regular season 25-piece from Julian Strawther as a motivating factor in a playoff series? It's incredible that Finch would admit that out loud, but it's a good reminder that coaches will do whatever they can to get the most out of their players.

More NBA from Sports Illustrated



This article was originally published on www.si.com as You Won't Believe What the Nuggets Did that Gave the Timberwolves Extra Motivation.

Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 9:37 AM.

Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER