DENVER (AP) — Anthony Edwards' decision-making was as spot-on as his shot-making.

When he drew a crowd, he passed. When he was open, he shot — and usually swished.

Edwards scored a playoff career-high — and franchise postseason-record — 43 points, Naz Reid had 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets 106-99 in Game 1 of the second-round series Saturday night.

Edwards was unstoppable in the first half, scoring 25 points, and Reid took over in the fourth quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points despite dealing with foul trouble. The Timberwolves shot a blistering 71.1% from the floor in the second half.

“The whole team, we trust each other,” said Edwards, who was 17 of 29 from the floor as he posted his third career playoff game with 40 or more points. “It doesn't matter down the stretch who takes the shot.”

All part of Edwards' evolution on the court.

“I’m proud of the way he’s accepted the kind of growth he needed to have to be where he is,” said Conley, who finished with 14 points and 10 assists. “It’s not easy for a 22-, 23-year-old to make that adjustment so quickly.”

“Twenty-two,” Edwards playfully chimed in.

Game 2 is Monday night in Denver.

Three days after undergoing knee surgery, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was on the bench in the second row, next to the scorer’s table and behind assistant coach Micah Nori, who did the instructing, roaming and switching. Finch ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee last week when Wolves point guard Mike Conley collided with him late in Minnesota’s Round 1 clincher at Phoenix.

“All the plays we scored on were my calls and the ones that we didn't were his,” cracked Nori. “(Finch) was great. He was like, ‘We don’t want to make it clunky,' is the term he used. We did a good job of that.”

Two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 32 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for Denver, but also had seven turnovers. Jamal Murray scored 17 points after being held scoreless in the first half. Murray, the hero for the Nuggets in Round 1 with a pair of game-winners that allowed Denver to eliminate the Lakers in five games, finished 6 of 14 from the floor.

“We need to do a better job of making them make tough shots, maybe make the extra pass," Jokic said.

Tied at 84, the Timberwolves went on an 18-7 run to break it open. Reid had 10 straight points for the Timberwolves at one point during the pivotal stretch. Reid was the beneficiary of the Nuggets making sure Edwards was constantly covered.

“When (Edwards) draws three people, he makes the right play all the time,” Reid said. “I've seen him grow from Day 1 to where he is — a superstar in the making, if he's not now.”

Last year, the Wolves were a tough first-round opponent for Denver despite being without Reid (broken wrist) and Jaden McDaniels (broken hand) and with Towns coming off a severe calf strain that had cost him 52 games. This time, not a single Timberwolves player was listed on the injury report.

“Going against the best player in the world is always fun,” Edwards said about facing Jokic. “Going against the best team in the world is always fun.”

Aside from being healthier, the Timberwolves were much better thanks to the dramatic improvement in Edwards' game, Denver coach Michael Malone suggested.

“There's no weaknesses in his game,” Malone said. "And it's going to be a hell of a challenge trying to slow him down."

Especially when he has so much help.

“Naz Reid got going. Karl-Anthony Towns got going. Mike Conley got going — where Anthony Edwards carried the day in that first half,” Malone said. “But the second half I just felt not nearly enough discipline and physicality and they were able to get whatever they wanted.”

Nuggets: We can't let Edwards' supporting cast get hot again or it'll be an early exit for champs

DENVER (AP) — It wasn't so much another slow start or Anthony Edwards' 43 points that bothered Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone after the Minnesota Timberwolves thumped the reigning NBA champions 106-99 in the opener of the second-round series Saturday night.

It was more how the Nuggets allowed Edwards' hot hand to ignite his supporting cast as the Wolves improved to 5-0 in the playoffs and sent the Nuggets to a series deficit, something they never had last year while winning it all.

“Yeah, I wasn't worried about the start. It was 18-4. Jamal Murray didn't practice all week, couldn't make a shot. I'm more worried about our second-half defense,” said Malone, whose team will try to even the series Monday night in Game 2.

“I think at one point they were shooting 90%" after halftime.

The Timberwolves finished with a 73.7% clip in the third quarter, and those 14 baskets in 19 shots helped them erase a 44-40 halftime deficit and take a 73-68 lead into the fourth quarter, where Minnesota stayed hot, hitting 13 of 19 shots.

That's 27 of 38 in the second half for a 71% shooting clip.

“Naz Reid got going. Karl-Anthony Towns got going. Mike Conley got going — where Anthony Edwards carried the day in that first half," Malone said. “But second half I just felt not nearly enough discipline and physicality and they were able to get whatever they wanted.

“Seventy-one percent in the second half of a playoff game is unacceptable.”

Especially when Jamal Murray, the hero of Denver's first round against the Lakers, had zero points at halftime — his first scoreless half in his 59th career playoff game — and finished with 17 points. Nikola Jokic had 32 and Michael Porter Jr. 20.

“It seemed like they made a lot of shots, especially the second half,” Jokic said. “Some of them were open. Some of them were not open. It's part of basketball. We need to do a better job with that, just make them make tougher shots maybe or make an extra pass, just to make them work more for the basket.”

Edwards scored 25 of his 43 points in the first half, but he had very little help from his teammates until they came out of the locker room and couldn't miss.

“It'll be a quick exit if we allow four guys to get off like that," Malone said. "So, ANT's going to get his. We can do a much better job” on everyone else.

Here’s how hot the Wolves were after halftime: Edwards was the only Minnesota player to miss more than one shot — and he was 7 for 12.

It's always difficult to double Edwards and get the ball out of his hands. because the Wolves had a high-powered offense in which all five starters averaged double figures in points in their first-round sweep of Phoenix.

“I mean, any good team has multiple weapons,” Porter said. “One thing that makes us successful is when teams double Joker, we've got capable guys that can make shots” and make them pay.

“Similar with them. If you double ANT, he may be swinging the ball to KAT or Mike Conley or Jaden McDaniels, all capable guys. So, it's definitely a balance and something we've got to look at on film.”

The Nuggets went 10-1 at home on their way to winning the franchise's first NBA championship last summer and 3-0 at Ball Arena against the Lakers in Round 1 this year.

“Yeah, we definitely want to bounce back, especially in our home arena,” said Porter. “We've got to lock in from the jump. We know this team is very good, and we know it's going to be a long series. And it's going to be a good series. We've just got to get the next one.”

Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori, who filled in on the sideline for Chris Finch, who's recovering from knee surgery that forced him to sit in the second row, said the emphasis in Round 1 was on slowing the Sun's fast starts but against Denver, they had to focus on curbing Denver's prowess of closing out opponents in the fourth quarter.

“So, we went from starting games to closing games and just talking about taking care of the basketball, making sure we get good shots," Nori said.