MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jaden McDaniels pushed himself into the spotlight in the first round of the NBA playoffs with his declaration following Minnesota’s comeback victory in Game 2 that the key to offensive success in this series was driving to the basket and directly attacking a Denver team he said was filled with “bad defenders.”
The external consensus was that McDaniels made a mistake by unnecessarily offering bulletin-board fodder to fire up the Nuggets, but the Timberwolves weren’t worried much about that. For them, matter-of-fact statements from the stone-faced McDaniels are part of his charm.
“Jaden is kind of crazy,” teammate Donte DiVincenzo said. “That’s why we love him. The one thing about Jaden: He’s always going to show up and compete.”
With 20 points and 10 rebounds to go with his usual relentless defense on the perimeter for Minnesota in a 113-96 win over Denver in Game 3 on Thursday, McDaniels unquestionably backed up his bold words. The long-armed and lithe sixth-year forward did exactly what he urged the Timberwolves to do, taking the ball straight at the Nuggets with repeated success along with fellow wing players DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu.
The fans at Target Center were delighted, some of them clutching clever homemade signs in tribute to the headline-grabbing quote, a sentiment that McDaniels appreciated so much he actually cracked a smile at his postgame news conference afterward.
“Minnesota, they’ve always brought me in with open arms, even when I was a rookie,” McDaniels said. “Seeing stuff like that and them getting loud when I come in the game is just a blessing, and I appreciate everyone that does that and supports us and supports me.”
With superstar Anthony Edwards in foul trouble and limited to 24 minutes and second-leading scorer Julius Randle having a relatively quiet game with the ball, McDaniels saw his time to shine by getting into the lane for his signature short jumpers with the extended elevation and release or going all the way for a layup or a dunk. He had the crowd roaring in the fourth quarter with a one-handed slam in traffic over Nikola Jokic and Spencer Jones.
“It kind of feels like an AAU game, a lot of freedom, a lot of passing, a lot of alley-oops, dunks and stuff, so it makes the game fun for us,” McDaniels said. “We’re a young team, I would say, so that’s just a superpower for us, just being able to outrun people and whoever gets the rebound can push or throw the pass ahead.”
McDaniels most importantly kept Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray, Jokic’s high-scoring sidekick, in check by frequently picking him up on defense in the backcourt and applying continually intense ball pressure. Murray shot just 5 for 17 from the floor, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range.
For McDaniels, the offense and the defense was secondary to the greater purpose of helping the Timberwolves get another deep playoff run going, particularly against the team that has become their biggest rival.
“I don’t know. Just playing Denver really motivates us. That’s enough for us, playing against them,” McDaniels said. “We don’t really care what they say. Just the number and the name across their chest makes us play like this.”
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