It was all going so well at halftime.

The Denver Nuggets led the Minnesota Timberwolves 53-38 at the midway point of Game 7. In this decisive matchup, the Nuggets were performing impressively. Jamal Murray was dominating, Nikola Jokic was doing everything, and the rotation was contributing significantly, especially on defense.

Then, the second half happened.

After extending their lead to 20 points early in the third quarter, the Nuggets collapsed. They led 58-38 at the 10:50 mark, but over the next six minutes, they scored just one point while the Wolves scored 15, cutting the lead dramatically. By the end of the third quarter, the Wolves had closed the gap to just one point.

“I feel like we got the shots we wanted and the opportunities were there. Our defense was there,” Jamal Murray recalled postgame. “I just think that run, the run that they had somewhere in the second half, we couldn’t recover from that one.”

From that point on, the Wolves outperformed the Nuggets. Key three-pointers from Jaden McDaniels and Mike Conley, putback dunks by Naz Reid and Karl-Anthony Towns, and a clutch fadeaway jumper by Rudy Gobert at the shot clock buzzer showcased their resilience. The Wolves ultimately won the game 98-90, delivering a heartbreaking defeat for Denver.

Michael Malone, visibly frustrated postgame, didn’t appreciate the initial questions. “The season’s over, man. That’s what’s hard. F*** being up 20. The season’s over. You don’t understand that. The season’s over. It’s hard.”

The Nuggets couldn’t maintain their first-half pace, scoring just 37 points in the second half and missing numerous open shots. Jamal Murray led with 35 points on 13-of-27 shooting. He scored 24 points in the first half but struggled in the second half, going 1-of-7 from three-point range and committing critical turnovers.

Nikola Jokic, despite his impressive final stats with 34 points, 19 rebounds, and 7 assists, also underperformed in the second half. He shot 7-of-16, including 2-of-8 from three-point range. He often settled for three-pointers that weren’t falling, and the Nuggets stopped exploiting their inside game.

Beyond Murray’s 35 points and Jokic’s 34, the rest of the Nuggets combined for just 21 points. Michael Porter Jr. struggled, scoring only seven points on 3-of-12 shooting. Aaron Gordon added four points in 42 minutes, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope five points in 40 minutes, and the bench contributed just five points on four shots.

“I think so much is being placed on their shoulders,” Malone said about Jokic and Murray. “We’re expecting Jamal and Nikola to continue to pull rabbits out of their hat. Somebody else has to give them some help. Joker had 34, Jamal 35, and we just struggled to make shots. They’re a really good defense.”

The Nuggets find themselves in a difficult position. Their highly touted starting lineup wasn’t enough to win the series. The Wolves effectively disrupted Denver’s starters, and the Nuggets had little support from the bench, which was filled with young and inexperienced players not ready for a championship run.

The Wolves deserve credit for their performance, built to counter Denver’s interior scoring strengths.

“I think they’re built to beat us,” Jokic said postgame. “They have basically two All-Stars, two All-Defensive First Team players, and Mike Conley, who’s the most underrated player in the NBA probably. I love the guy. He’s so good.”

Despite acknowledging the opponent’s strength, the pain of losing was palpable.

“We had our opportunities tonight, and we didn’t make them, and that’s what stings,” Murray said. “I don’t know. I think we should have won tonight. That’s the tough part. They beat us, but we had so many great opportunities, including myself, so it’s just tough man. I’m excited for next year.”

So now, the season is over.

The Nuggets had a prime opportunity to repeat as NBA champions this year. They could have been the first team in six years to win back-to-back titles, a feat made challenging by the current parity in the NBA. Despite the difficulty, the Nuggets had their chance. Leading by 20 points in the third quarter of Game 7, failing to secure the victory under those circumstances is truly heartbreaking.

“Every series is a learning opportunity, and this feeling sucks, as I told our players,” Malone shared. “You go through training camp all the way through, and then it comes to an abrupt halt, and that hurts. So, you use that feeling as motivation to come back a better player.”

Murray elaborated on the challenges of defending the championship this year: “I’d say just mentally and physically conjuring up the energy to fight like you’re being hunted. I think that’s the emotion. I think when you’re the hunter, you have so much more motivation, and you grasp onto anything to prove everybody wrong, and you have a constant chip on your shoulder.”

“We won it last year. Teams in the West, they regrouped, they retooled. How are we going to beat the champs?” Malone said. “And teams got better. You have to tip your cap to Minnesota… that was a helluva series. They gave us all we could handle, and they wound up winning Game 7 on our home court, which is a tough one to swallow.”