“Wolves” lead 1-0 in the series up to four victories.
Game 2 of the series is back in Denver on Tuesday night.
Anthony Edwards had a fantastic performance with 43 points and 7 rebounds for the winners.
He became just the second player in NBA history, after Kobe Bryant, to score 40 or more points in two consecutive playoff games under the age of 23.
N. Jokičius was again close to a triple double – he scored 32 points, rebounded 8 balls, made 9 assists.
VIDEO: Summary of the match
We will remind you that Denver finished the regular season in the second position of the Western Conference, Minnesota – third.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks will face each other in the Western Conference semifinals.
Nuggets: Nikola Jokičius 32 (9/16 doubles, 2/9 triples, 8/8 penalties, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 assists, 7 fouls), Michael Porter 20, Jamal Murray 17.
Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards 43 (14/22 doubles, 3/7 triples, 6/6 rebounds, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks), Karl-Anthony Towns 20, Naz Reid 16, Mike Conley 14.
