DENVER — The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets 119-114 in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Monday night, overcoming a 19-point deficit to even the series at 1-1. Game 3 will be played in Minnesota on Thursday night.

After the win, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels urged his teammates to attack Denver's defenders. "Go after Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders," McDaniels said. "Tim Hardaway Jr., Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team, just go at them."

McDaniels, who finished with 14 points and three assists, expanded on his assessment of the Nuggets' defense. "They don't got people that can defend the rim," he said. "We're still more athletic than them and just got to be able to finish when we do."

Anthony Edwards scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while playing with a sore knee. Nikola Jokić recorded 24 points and 15 rebounds for Denver, and Jamal Murray added 30 points. In the fourth quarter, Jokić and Murray combined to shoot 2-of-12 for four points.

In the closing seconds, Murray pulled up for a 2-point shot instead of a 3-pointer and 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."

Murray addressed his performance after the loss. "I didn't make enough shots tonight," he said. "We all could have played better. It's not all on one person, that's just the way the game goes sometimes."