Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, Jamal Murray scored 30 points, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-105 on Saturday to take a 1-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Murray was perfect from the line, hitting a career-high 16 free throws, while Aaron Gordon finished with 17 points and Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun pitched in with 12 points each for Denver.

Game 2 is Monday night in Denver.

Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 22 points and Rudy Gobert produced 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle scored 16 apiece, Ayo Dosunmu scored 14 and Donte DiVincenzo added 12.

The Timberwolves trailed by 12 after three but rallied to start the fourth. Dosunmu and Edwards hit 3-pointers, Gobert made a driving layup and then a put-back during a 12-4 run that cut the deficit to 97-95.

But Jokic answered with a three-point play and a tip-in to extend the lead to seven with 5:45 left.

Following a Minnesota timeout, Edwards missed a 19-footer and Braun made two free throws. Jokic notched his 22nd playoff triple-double off a Minnesota turnover that made it 106-97.

Edwards missed a long three that would have made it a two-point game with 2:25 remaining. Gordon hit a follow dunk and Gobert’s offensive goaltending miscue kept it at 108-101 with 1:39 left.

The Timberwolves led by as many as 12 in the first half but a strong second quarter by the Nuggets sent it into intermission tied at 62-1ll.

Denver took advantage of a Timberwolves’ scoring drought of 4:22 to open up a big third quarter lead. Gordon scored half of the points in a 14-0 run, capping it with a follow dunk to make it 82-68. McDaniels hit a jumper in the lane to end the run but also picked up a technical foul.

Murray hit the free throw and then a turnaround to make it 85-70. Edwards came back into the game with four points and fed Mike Conley for a corner 3-pointer but Jokic’s floater gave the Nuggets a 91-79 lead heading into the fourth.

The Timberwolves outshot the Nuggets from the floor and beyond the arc, but Denver rode Murray’s free throw prowess to outscore Minnesota, 30-14, from the line. The Nuggets made 30-of-33 free throws (90.9%).

–Field Level Media

Tarik Skubal pitched six dominant innings and Kerry Carpenter highlighted his multi-hit game with a home run, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday afternoon.

Skubal (3-2) struck out 10, twice fanning the side, while allowing just one run on four hits en route to the win.

Carpenter (2-for-3, two RBI) and Kevin McGonigle (2-for-5, RBI, run) led the offense for Detroit, which broke a nine-game road losing streak.

Tyler Holton and Kenley Jansen teamed up in relief as Boston was limited to five hits. Jansen notched his fifth save.

Brayan Bello (1-2) took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks in four innings. He fanned four, while throwing 84 pitches.

The Tigers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning while forcing Bello to throw 35 pitches. After McGonigle lined a leadoff single to right, another base knock by Colt Keith and a walk to Riley Greene loaded the bases.

Bello fanned Spencer Torkelson, but another free pass to Carpenter forced home Detroit’s opening run.

Bello retired the next eight men he faced, including a strikeout to begin the fourth, before the visitors marked the scoreboard again on Carpenter’s towering homer into the right-center field bullpen. After two more baserunners continued the line, Jake Rogers’ sacrifice fly and another McGonigle single extended the Detroit lead.

The four runs proved to be enough support for Skubal, who retired the Red Sox in order the first time through the lineup and allowed just one baserunner before Boston got on the board in the fifth.

In the hosts’ run-scoring inning, a Wilyer Abreu single and Ceddanne Rafaela double set the table in the inning, but Connor Wong’s double play ball plating a run was all of the offense Skubal would allow.

Back-to-back hits by Roman Anthony and Andruw Monestario to begin the sixth gave Boston an opportunity to break into its deficit further, but Skubal escaped trouble with two strikeouts of the next three batters.

Skubal fanned the side in the second and fourth innings. Boston’s Willson Contreras and Trevor Story each struck out three times in the game.

–Field Level Media

Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, Jamal Murray scored a game-high 30 points and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-105 on Saturday to take a 1-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Murray was perfect from the line, hitting a career-high 16 free throws, while Aaron Gordon finished with 17 points and Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun pitched in with 12 points each for Denver.

The Nuggets fell behind by 12 in the second quarter, but they forged a halftime tie and never trailed after the break.

“First game of the playoffs, you have all of this adrenaline, nerves, excitement,” said Murray, who scored just three points in the game’s first 14 minutes. “Just come out, be relaxed, do what I do and be aggressive.

“It’s not a feel-out game. To me, it’s the most important game of the series. It sets the tone and this is why you work for home-court advantage, to win this game right here.”

Game 2 is Monday night in Denver.

Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 22 points while Rudy Gobert produced 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle scored 16 apiece, Ayo Dosunmu posted 14 and Donte DiVincenzo added 12.

Edwards, who missed 11 of Minnesota’s final 15 regular-season games due to right knee issues, was listed as questionable prior to the game. He wound up playing a team-high 38 minutes and contributing nine rebounds along with a team-high seven assists and three blocks, but he shot 7 of 19 from the field.

“He looked normal for what he’s been through,” said Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. “I thought he got tired in the third, so I pulled him a little bit earlier. He had some good looks throughout the game; touch maybe wasn’t there. It wasn’t the ‘Ant’ we’re used to seeing, but it’s pretty much as expected considering where he is trying to find his rhythm.”

The Timberwolves trailed by 12 after three quarters, but they rallied to start the fourth. Dosunmu and Edwards hit 3-pointers, then Gobert made a driving layup and a putback during a 12-4 run that cut the deficit to 97-95.

But Jokic answered with a three-point play and a tip-in to extend the lead to seven with 5:45 left.

Following a Minnesota timeout, Edwards missed a 19-footer and Braun made two free throws. After a Minnesota turnover, Jokic completed his 22nd playoff triple-double by feeding Bruce Brown for a fast-break dunk to make it 106-97 with 4:10 to go.

Edwards missed a long 3-point attempt that would have made it a 2-point game with 2:25 remaining. Gordon hit a follow dunk and Gobert’s offensive goaltending miscue kept it at 108-101 with 1:39 left.

The Timberwolves led by as many as 12 in the first half but a strong second quarter by the Nuggets sent it into intermission 62-62.

Denver took advantage of a Timberwolves’ scoring drought of 4:22 to open up a big third-quarter lead. Gordon scored half of the points in a 14-0 run, capping it with a follow dunk to make it 82-68. McDaniels hit a jumper in the lane to end the run but also picked up a technical foul.

Murray hit the free throw and then a turnaround to make it 85-70. Edwards came back into the game with four points and fed Mike Conley for a corner 3-pointer, but Jokic’s floater gave the Nuggets a 91-79 lead heading into the fourth.

The Timberwolves outshot the Nuggets from the floor and beyond the arc, but Denver rode Murray’s free-throw prowess to outscore Minnesota 30-14 from the line. The Nuggets made 30-of-33 free throws (90.9%).

“(Murray) made a lot of free throws because he got fouled,” Adelman said. “A lot.”

–Field Level Media