The Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-111 in Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference first-round playoffs at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday, taking a 3-0 lead in the series.

Nikola Jokic dropped 20 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists for the Nuggets, securing his seventh triple-double in the playoffs, which is the second-most among centers in league history, behind only the nine times of Wilt Chamberlain. Despite his advantage in picking Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns via isolation, Jokic only shot 13 field goals (FGs), the third-most on the roster, and spent most of his efforts trying to get as many teammates as possible involved in offense.

He did an excellent job on this front. The Nuggets shot 57.1 percent from the field with 32 assists. Jokic aside, there were another five Nuggets players scoring double-digit point. Michael Porter Jr. had 25 points and nine rebounds after draining four triples and going 6-for-7 next to the hoop. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made four of his seven shots in the second quarter to score 11 points. Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown all made key contributions at the right time.

Compared with the Nuggets that always could count on different players to take charge, the Timberwolves were over-reliant on Towns and Anthony Edwards, despite their flaws. Towns shot 10-for-17 from the field to get 27 points, but his defensive under-performance undermined his offensive contribution.

Edwards made good use of his athleticism to charge the rim with determination. He made seven of his nine attempts under the hoop, earned 15 free throws and converted 13 of them to score 36 points. 23 of those points were produced in the second half. 

Nonetheless, Edwards' choice-making in passing still leaves a lot to be desired, especially when he drives deep into the paint. Despite his good vision to find open teammates, opponents have often found his passes too predictable, which was apparent on Friday as Nuggets managed to cut them off with relative ease at times. Moreover, Edwards has yet to master the art of moving the ball for second attack when he is unable to go for direct assists.

Gobert contributed a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds with a good FG rate of 70 percent, but all of his points were scored in the first and third quarters during which he managed to stay free of foul trouble. By contrast, when he was called three fouls in both the second and fourth periods, Gobert had nothing but two rebounds, one assist and one turnover.

No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the postseason in NBA history. Judging by the development so far of this series, the Timberwolves give no reasons for anyone to believe that they can become the first exception.

Game 4 will take place at the Target Center on Sunday.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Boston Celtics 122-130 Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks achieved a surprising win after going back home at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday, reducing their deficit in the series to 2-1. Their victory came from Trae Young's 32 points, the bench unit's performance of outscoring their Celtics counterparts 44-35, and the team's solid protection of the paint where the opponents only scored 40 points.

The Celtics went 21-for-48 from downtown in Friday's game, but took only 34 shots to get 40 points in the paint. By contrast, the Hawks shot 44 FGs and scored 54 points there. Such offensive over-reliance on the perimeter shooting backfired in the second half during which the team missed 17 of their 23 3-pointers.

The Celtics were not as tough or focused, or defensively astute, as they were in the previous two games. Though they started the same five players who are theoretically able to switch everything, they couldn't stop Trae Young from beating the perimeter defensively and driving deep easily to his sweet spots for floaters. Young's sharp penetrations plus Dejounte Murray's superb mid-range jumpers enabled the Hawks to beat the opponents with their offensive dominance.

Game 4 will take place at State Farm Arena on Sunday.

Cleveland Cavaliers 79-99 New York Knicks

The Knicks again strangled the Cavaliers with their stifling defensive intensity at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on Friday, taking a 2-1 lead in the series. They had 14 steals and forced 20 turnovers by the opponents, beating the Cavaliers 14-11 in second-chance points, 15-7 in fast break points, 56-48 in points in the paint and 39-14 in backup points.

The Cavaliers set an awkward record of scoring the fewest points so far in the playoffs this season after shooting 38.8 percent from the field and 21.2 percent behind the arc. Their starting point guard Darius Garland became the worst-performing one on the team's roster after missing 17 of his 21 FG attempts.

Game 4 will be held at the Madison Square Garden on Sunday