The Nuggets are halfway to protecting their home-court advantage.

Here are three keys to Denver taking a 2-0 series lead Monday at Ball Arena.

1. Make Edwards work even more

The Nuggets did a good job of making Anthony Edwards work on the defensive end in Game 1. Continuing to do so in Game 2 will go a long way to a 2-0 start. Edwards is playing through a knee issue that’s been compared to runner’s knee, an overuse injury. The postseason is no time for sympathy, and the Nuggets played as such. Minnesota’s star started the game defending Cam Johnson, who spends a lot of time as a spot-up shooter. The Nuggets forced Edwards to navigate off-ball screens, on-ball screens and dribble drives. The work Edwards had to do on the defensive end made Christian Braun’s job defending the electric 24-year-old a lot easier. Keep putting Edwards in actions, and Denver’s path to the second round is a lot smoother.

2. Downtown Braun

Christian Braun got the first and last laugh. Eight minutes into the game, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic were working their two-man game. It started with a handoff to Murray and continued with an inverted pick-and-roll with Jokic as the ballhandler and Murray as the screen. That occupied the attention of Ayo Dosunmu and Rudy Gobert, the players defending Murray and Jokic, and Edwards, who was matched up on Braun. As Jokic hit Braun with a no-look pass to the corner, Bones Hyland, a former teammate, lunged toward Braun from the bench in an attempt to disrupt his shooting motion. An unbothered Braun knocked down his first 3 and went on to finish 2 of 3 from distance. If Minnesota switches up its defensive coverage on Jokic in Game 2, that likely means inviting Denver’s starting shooting guard to fire away. He’s got to keep shooting with confidence just like he did in Game 1.

3. Bench boost

Bruce Brown got loose, and Tim Hardaway Jr. survived an uncharacteristic shooting performance to help Denver start the series on the right foot. Brown’s energy provided an instant impact, and he finished the night with five of Denver’s seven steals. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists to go with his eight points. Hardaway only made two of his six shots and one of his three attempts from deep but won his 24 minutes by nine points. The stint to start the second quarter with Brown and Hardaway on the court changed the complexion of the game. As long as Brown can sustain the energy and Hardaway can have a positive impact regardless of his shooting efficiency, Denver should be in a commanding spot when the series heads to Minneapolis.