MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 The lyrics booming from a portable speaker on the Target Center court Friday revealed the Nuggets\u2019 headspace ahead of Game 4.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome with me, Hail Mary\/Run quick see, what do we have here?\u201d the late Tupac Shakur\u2019s voice carried through an empty arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, do you wanna ride or die?\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the question facing Denver ahead of Saturday\u2019s pivotal game against the hard-playing, smack-talking Timberwolves. To ride back to Denver with home-court advantage and the series reduced to a best-of-three affair will require a more gangster-rap mentality. Another soft performance would leave Denver\u2019s season on its deathbed.<\/p>\n
On offense, continuing the ride means setting sturdier screens that free Jamal Murray from Jaden McDaniels and Nikola Jokic from Rudy Gobert. More physicality would also help on the glass. Minnesota has won the rebounding battle in both of its wins.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to show more fight,\u201d Christian Braun said after practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be in there. You\u2019ve got to sandwich rebound. You\u2019ve got to get into guys. You\u2019ve got to push guys out of bounds, just be more physical.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26114180624804-1024x683.jpg\")
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) shoots over Denver Nuggets guards Bruce Brown (11) and Julian Strawther (3) during the first half in Game 3 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo\/Abbie Parr)<\/p>\n
On the other end, that means keeping Anthony Edwards, Ayo Dosunmu and Jaden McDaniels from getting to the rim at will.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefensively in the half court, even when we were good schematically, our hands weren\u2019t on people enough. You have to toe that line in these games,\u201d Nuggets David Adelman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were very selective (Thursday) with how we played physically on both ends. It\u2019s just got to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The belief is that shots will start to fall after another uncharacteristic offensive performance. Adelman was also encouraged with the defensive effort in the second half. The Nuggets coach thought the variety of defensive schemes Denver deployed finally got the Timberwolves to slow down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can play much harder, but I do think yesterday missing shots at the volume that we did, it\u2019s almost impossible to not to feel like it\u2019s downhill for them,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to set your defense that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
One Nuggets player told The Denver Gazette he believed the strength and conditioning coaches provided the playlist that exclusively featured Tupac\u2019s catalogue, while players got up shots after practice. A little extra muscle would go a long way to keeping Denver\u2019s postseason ride alive.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26114158059848-1024x683.jpg\")
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) works toward the basket as Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0), bottom, and forward Spencer Jones (21) defend during the second half in Game 3 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo\/Abbie Parr)<\/p>\n
For those who haven\u2019t heard \u201cHit Em Up,\u201d one thing Tupac understood was handling rivals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen these guys a million times. It\u2019s always a competitive series. It\u2019s obviously a rivalry. We feel the same way about them as they feel about us. It\u2019s 2-1. We\u2019ve got to win Game 4, and we\u2019ve got home-court advantage,\u201d Braun said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGot to take care of Game 4, then all this stuff that\u2019s been up to this point doesn\u2019t really matter. Gotta play better going forward, gotta be more physical.\u201d<\/p>\n
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