Jaden McDaniels calls Nuggets 'all bad defenders' after Timberwolves rally to win Game 2

PAT GRAHAM Tue, April 21, 2026 at 7:15 AM UTC

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1 / 0CORRECTION Timberwolves Nuggets BasketballMinnesota Timberwolves Jaden McDaniels (3) drives to the basket against Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) 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) CORRECTION Correct to Julius Randle in stead of Julius Randle. ()

DENVER (AP) — Jaden McDaniels took perhaps his most notable shot after Minnesota's 119-114 playoff win at Denver in Game 2 on Monday night.

The Timberwolves forward pretty much labeled all the Nuggets' players bad defenders. Thrown in there were All-Stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

“Go after Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders,” said McDaniels, who had 14 points and three assists. "Tim Hardaway (Jr.), Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team, just go at them.”

So they're all bad defenders?

“Yeah, they’re all bad defenders,” McDaniels added.

The Timberwolves overcame a 19-point deficit to even the first-round series, which shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Thursday night. Anthony Edwards led the way with 30 points despite playing on a sore knee. He also had 10 rebounds.

“They don’t got people that can defend the rim,” McDaniels said. "We’re still more athletic than them and just got to be able to finish when we do.”

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Jokic had 24 points and 15 rebounds — all on the defensive end — while Murray scored 30 points. But Denver's dynamic duo shot a combined 2 of 12 for four points in the fourth quarter. Murray had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds but elected to pull up for a 2-point shot instead.

He missed.

“I was happy he took the two points,” Edwards said. “I thought he had a good look at a 3 when he first came off but yeah, he took the 2-pointer. I guess if he made it, we would have been in a free-throw situation. But yeah, I’m kind of happy he took the 2-pointer.”

Murray said he “didn't make enough shots tonight.”

"That’s really about it,” he added. "We all could have played better. It’s not all on one person, that’s just the way the game goes sometimes. They played hard as well. It was a good game. I thought we had the game in our hands, but we just didn’t make enough shots, in my opinion.”

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Source: “AOL Sports”