Jamal Murray got his points in much different fashion in Game 2, but another 30-point performance wasn’t enough for the Nuggets.

After making all of his 16 free throw attempts and missing all eight of his 3-pont attempts in Game 1, Murray finished Denver’s 119-114 loss Monday at Ball Arena with six made 3s on 15 attempts. Denver’s starting point guard opened the scoring with a triple on Denver’s first offensive possession, but he went cold late as Denver couldn’t close it out in the clutch and ceded home-court advantage.

“You’ve got to make shots to do it, and I didn’t make enough shots tonight,” Murray admitted. “That’s really about it. We got the looks.”

Denver’s starting point guard matched his Game 1 output by scoring his 30^th point on a floater early in the fourth quarter to put Denver up three with 10 minutes to play. Murray didn’t score again, going 1 for 6 in the final quarter with a trio misses in the final minutes. He played a game-high 42 minutes and 40 seconds.

“He definitely was tired,” Adelman said. “I thought most of the people out there were really tired. Jamal has a ton of responsibility.”

Minnesota coach Chris Finch called Murray’s career-high in free throw attempts a “head-scratcher” after Game 1. In Game 2, Denver’s starting point guard earned just two free throws. He added seven rebounds and seven assists.

Murray’s fifth 3-pointer of the first half came from a couple of steps beyond half court just before the second-quarter buzzer. It tied the game after Denver led by as many 19 earlier in the quarter. He headed back to the tunnel with 23 points on a 5-of-7 mark from 3-point range. Two of those 3s ended up being four-point plays in the first quarter.

“It’s a stinger, but we’ll be back,” Murray said.

Nikola Jokic needed 20 shots to score 24 points and added 15 rebounds and eight assists.

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 30 points on 25 shots. There was a possession early in the first quarter where Edwards’s bothersome right knee seemed to seize up. Though he stayed in the game for the rest of his 10-minute first stint, he had to take the possession off. Edwards found a rhythm as the game matured.

Julius Randle added 24 points on 14 shots. Four other Timberwolves scored in double figures, while Denver got 16 points from Tim Hardaway Jr. and Christian Braun and 13 from Cam Johnson.

Down three with 19 seconds left, Murray missed a pull-up jumper. The Timberwolves successfully played keep-away, and Donte DiVincenzo sealed the game with a transition dunk to even the series at a game apiece despite a pair of 30-point performances from Murray.

“We just need a bucket. We have a timeout. If I hit the shot, they in-bound it. They had Rudy and somebody else out there, and we could’ve fouled them. They miss one, maybe. You call timeout,” Murray explained his process on his final shot. “I have to make the shot for it to go well. That was the problem – I didn’t make it.”

TIMBERWOLVES 119, NUGGETS 114

What happened: Denver led by as many as 19 in the first half but needed Jamal Murray’s half-court shot at the buzzer to tie the game at 64 by halftime. Minnesota trailed by three to start the fourth but held the Nuggets to 21 points in the fourth quarter.

What went right: The Nuggets committed just nine turnovers, while Minnesota committed 12.

What went wrong: Christian Braun had the opportunity to tie the game at the free throw line with 20 seconds left but missed his first attempt. He finished 5 for 7 at the line.

Highlight of the night: Cam Johnson stood up Rudy Gobert and forced Jaden McDaniels into a miss before Aaron Gordon finished a fast break by bouncing the ball to himself for a double-pump dunk a few minutes into the game.

Up next: The teams have a couple of days off before the series heads to Minnesota for Thursday’s Game 3.