DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets couldn’t quiet an epic second-half comeback by Minnesota or the noise emanating from a boisterous Timberwolves locker room.

It was a thunderous and stinging reminder of the obvious — their reign as champions was over, and much sooner than expected.

The young and confident Timberwolves came into Denver’s house and spoiled the party by eliminating the Nuggets with a 98-90 win Sunday night in Game 7 of their second-round series. Minnesota overcame a 20-point deficit to make the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2004.

“No one ever said this was going to be easy trying to repeat,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

The Nuggets became the fifth straight reigning champion to fail to reach the conference finals in their quest to repeat. As Malone answered questions following the game, the vibrations from the Timberwolves’ rowdy locker room celebration echoed from down the hall.