NBA playoffs: Nuggets rally fr...

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Timberwolves weren't prepared for their campaign to be over.

The Denver Nuggets were uninterested.

The Timberwolves started Game 5 with a 15-point advantage after winning a thrilling overtime victory in Game 4 to prolong the series. But in the end, the top-seeded Nuggets performed as predicted at home.

They overcame an early deficit to take a 48-47 lead into halftime, then fought off a Timberwolves comeback to win 112-109 and win the series 4-1. With his ninth postseason triple-double in his career, Nikola Joki took the lead. With 28 seconds left in the game, a 3-point play on a pass from Jamal Murray helped to seal the victory.

With the ball and 2.5 seconds left, the Timberwolves still had a chance even though they were behind by three points. However, as the buzzer rang, a 3-point attempt by Anthony Edwards bounced off the back of the basket.

The Phoenix Suns, who later Tuesday night eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers, will now play the Denver Nuggets in the second round. The Timberwolves still need to win a playoff series for the first time since 2004.

Denver had to struggle to win this. With eight of Minnesota's first 13 points coming from Edwards, the Timberwolves jumped out to an early 27-12 lead. They had a 29-22 lead after the opening period.

In a 16-point first half, Murray kept the Nuggets in the game and finally guided them to a one-point halftime advantage. With an incredible turnaround floater above his head and with his back to the hoop, he became the stuff of highlight reels.

Michael Porter Jr., on the other hand, was scoreless after two quarters. After the break, the score remained close, and the teams entered the third period with a 77-77 draw. Porter missed his first seven field goal attempts and went scoreless until ending the drought with a slam to push Denver's advantage to 84-80.

The Nuggets held a lead throughout the majority of the fourth quarter, including a 102-96 advantage with 2:58 left. However, a 6-0 Timberwolves rally that was capped by an Edwards layup even the score at 102-102. Karl-Anthony Towns' jump shot once more knotted the score at 104-104. However, Joki scored five baskets in a row to give the Nuggets a 109-104 lead with 28 seconds remaining.

In the dying seconds of the game, Minnesota continued to exert pressure but failed to retake the lead or equal the score.

Joki had his second triple-double of the series with a final line of 28 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Murray had 35 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds to lead the scoring effort. Porter finished with 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals after making his final three attempts.

Edwards finished off a fantastic series in which he averaged 31.6 points with a performance of 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. He attempted six 3-point shots, but he missed them all, including an open shot with a chance to tie the game at the buzzer.

16 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals were recorded by Rudy Gobert. Towns recorded 26 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in what was maybe his greatest game of the series. However, once both players fouled out in the waning moments, neither he nor Gobert were on the floor.