The Champs Are Dead!! The Timberwolves Take Down The Nuggets By Pulling Off A Historic Comeback To Win Game 7 And Punch Their Ticket To The Western Conference Finals

C. Morgan Engel. Getty Images.

HOLY SHIT THEY DID IT! THE TIMBERWOLVES ACTUALLY DID IT!!!!!

For generations, all Minnesota sports fans have known is pain. Excruciating pain. A pain that will have you believing nothing good will ever happen to any of the MIN sports teams you live and die for. Pick the sport, it hasn't really mattered.

But tonight, the Wolves have done what many thought would be impossible. Beating the defending champs on their home floor in a Game 7? In a game they trailed by 20 points!??!?! I mean holy shit. I'm not going to say that makes up for all the previous MIN sports heartbreak, but it has to feel AMAZING for Wolves fans everywhere. On a night where Ant struggled offensively and they still got it done is beyond big time, and the fact that both road teams won their Game 7s today is pretty nuts. I guess we're done with the idea that homecourt means anything at this point, shit the Wolves won 3 games in Denver! That should never happen!

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But it did, and none were bigger than the 3rd one.

You have to feel for someone like KAT, a guy who has been there for everything. The ups, the downs, the trade rumors, and when his team needed him most, boy did he respond

Make no mistake, the Wolves do not win this game without the way he showed up on both ends of the floor. Going up against Jokic is a near impossible task, and KAT was ready for the battle and then some. Someone had to step up and carry while Ant struggled, and KAT didn't only produce, he was efficient. Given all the bullshit he's had to deal with over the years, this has to feel validating as hell.

Then there was Jaden McDaniels. Mostly known as a defensive guy, the beauty of Game 7s is there's usually a unsung hero. Someone who comes out of nowhere with the game of his life when the team needs it most, which is exactly what happened

How improbable was what we saw tonight from the Wolves? Well, they were only the first team EVER in NBA history to come back and win a Game 7 while trailing by 15+ at the half. I'd say that's pretty impressive.

They did it by getting back to their roots. Defense, defense, and then more defense. The Nuggets despite having the best player in the world and a red hot Jamal Murray in the first half scored only 37 points in the second half. The Wolves had this team in hell these last two games, holding DEN to 70 in Game 6 and then 90 tonight. I didn't even know that was possible and it certainly didn't seem like that was on the horizon given how the Nuggets were scoring with ease in the first half.

But as we see year in and year out, winning back to back titles is hard as hell. The MVP curse remains alive and well, with no current MVP winning a title since Steph did it nearly 10 years ago. Some might say it's not worth it if you're someone who has hopes of winning a title, and it's no coincidence that the only year Jokic didn't win the MVP his team went on to win the NBA title. You may not want to believe in it, I'm just telling you what NBA history is showing us.

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All year, pretty much everyone penciled the Nuggets into the Finals and repeat champs. It wasn't a hot take or anything given how freaking good they are, but this is why sports are the best. As predictable as you may think they are, we get nights like tonight. I'm sure everyone thought the Wolves were dead, and the next thing you knew Naz Reid was making huge plays, Ant woke up just enough offensively, Conley was making huge plays, Rudy Gobert was pulling a Jokic on Jokic

and every time it felt like maybe the Nuggets were going to put the pressure on the Wolves with a big bucket late, the Wolves found a way to respond. That's probably the most impressive part to me. They didn't wilt. They didn't poop their pants. They executed. That's what you have to do to beat the champs, you HAVE to execute late when you have your chances because if you don't they are going to make you pay.

It also should be noted that today just so happens to be KG's birthday and the game was played on the 20 year anniversary of the Wolves last Game 7 win. I'm not sure what that means, but I know it means something. I'm not totally sure how, but I truly believe that played a role in this massive, massive Game 7 win.

A brutal feeling I'm sure for Nuggets fans everywhere, but hey, you just won the title. Jokic is still the best player in the world, things will be fine. 

But tonight is about the Wolves, and every MIN fan out there. You've gone through hell for what I imagine is your entire life, and for the moment you are on top of the basketball world. What a Game 7, what a win, what a series.

Now we get Luka vs Ant, which I imagine will be pretty fun.