Timberwolves attempt to pick themselves off the floor against top-seeded Nuggets

So now it comes down to this:

The Timberwolves have to do something no NBA team has ever done. Friday night's 120-111 loss to Denver in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series Friday at Target Center — a game that once again came down to late-game execution — put the Wolves in an 0-3 hole in the best-of-seven series.

"I didn't think we'd be here," point guard Mike Conley said after the game, in which the Wolves pulled within three points early in the fourth quarter but never got within one possession again. "Honestly, I didn't think anybody in this room did. We had been playing really good basketball, playing hard, doing a lot of really, really good things to get into the playoffs. So it's frustrating."

And, historically, insurmountable. While it has happened in hockey and baseball, no NBA team has dug itself out of such a hole.

Three times a team has rallied from down 0-3 to tie the series, only to lose in Game 7. In the 1951 finals, the New York Knicks came from three down to tie the Rochester Royals. In 1994 eighth-seeded Denver came back from down three to tie Utah in the second round. In 2003, the first season the first round was best of seven, Portland came back to tie Dallas in the opening round.

All three of those teams won Games 4 and 6 at home only to lose Game 7 on the road.

"It's a tough one to take in," said Wolves center Rudy Gobert, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out Friday. "But we don't have a choice. Now it's one game at a time, and we've got to go out there and fight and get this one at home and go from there. But yeah, it's definitely a tough one."

The series has underscored the difference between the teams. The Nuggets, the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, with a core group that has played together for a while now, are certain about their identity, crisp in their execution late in games. The Wolves, who have gone through a season of lineup changes — one that included Karl-Anthony Towns missing nearly four months because of a calf injury — are not yet on that level.

"Yeah, of course, for sure, we've struggled with a consistent identity all year," coach Chris Finch said. "Whether it's been two bigs or a small lineup. Only Rudy or whatever. Obviously, things aren't there yet."

More recently, the Wolves have been without injured Naz Reid (wrist) and Jaden McDaniels (hand), affecting their depth, which was again an issue Friday.

In Game 3, the Nuggets shot 57.1% from the floor. Of the eight players who took a shot, all but one shot better than 50%, a big reason Denver was able to win on the road despite being outscored 29-11 at the free-throw line. The Wolves got 36 points from Anthony Edwards and 27 from Towns, but their bench managed only 10 points on 3-for-17 shooting.

"As much as we'd love to be hitting on all cylinders at this point in the year, we're fairly fresh as far as the lineups we've had to play with in the last few weeks," Conley said. "It's been a different team each week and having to adjust to that. It's been an ongoing transition for us."

If advancing to the second round seems unlikely, the one theme with the Wolves after Friday's game was wanting to extend the series. The Wolves play host to Denver Sunday night in Game 4.

"You've got to win," Towns said. "I mean, there's nothing else to think about. And we can talk about anything we want, offense, me hitting shots, or whatever the case may be. Just got to get the win. We have to take every game as a single game. We can't look forward at all."