Denver Nuggets control Minnesota Timberwolves behind efforts from Kenneth Faried, Randy Foye

Don’t look now, but the Denver Nuggets have won three straight and five of their last six games after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-100 tonight in Minneapolis. With the victory Denver improves to 11-14 and moves into eighth place in the Western Conference.  It was another balanced scoring effort for the Nuggets as six players finished with double-digit scoring totals.

Leading the way for Denver was Kenneth Faried and Randy Foye. The Manimal posted his one hundredth career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Foye finished with 19 points on 5-6 shooting from downtown against his former team. In addition Danilo Gallinari finished with 15 points, Will Barton scored 14, Joffrey Lauvergne added 11 and Jameer Nelson contributed 10 points in the victory.

Despite traveling across the country, and playing a back-to-back, the Nuggets were in control throughout the game and did not trail again following King Joffrey hitting a three pointer to put Denver up 15-12 with 5:33 to play in the first quarter. Minnesota would make a few runs in the third and fourth quarters but the Nuggets held fast and were never seriously threatened. It was a very impressive effort all around from Denver, as they played with energy and intensity despite playing their second game in 24 hours.

Where/When

Target Center – Minneapolis, MN | Dec. 15th, 2015

Stars of the Game

1.) Kenneth Faried – This was a huge game for The Manimal and one he needed to have. In a somewhat odd development he logged just 20 minutes of playing time in last night’s victory over the Rockets. Despite that, Faried came out and played inspired basketball from the opening tipoff as he provided hustle and energy to jumpstart the team in the first quarter. With tonight’s double-double he moves into fifth place on the franchise list for most career double doubles.

2.) Randy Foye – The former Villanova Wildcat unleashed fire on the team who drafted him in 2006. Foye stepped up in a big way tonight as Emmanuel Mudiay sat out again with a sprained right ankle. Randy had struggled of late to find an offensive rhythm, but that all changed tonight. He scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half as he went 5-5 from downtown before halftime. Here is video of Foye hitting his fifth three.

3.) Nikola Jokic – At first glance you wouldn’t think Jokic had that spectacular of a game. However the rookie, again, quietly played exceptionally well as he finished with 6 points on 3-4 shooting to compliment his 3 rebounds and 2 blocks. Most impressive was that he finished tied with Foye and Kostas Papanikolaou for a team high +12.

In other words, good things happened for the Nuggets when Jokic was on the floor. He continues to be a pleasant surprise for this team and will only get better from here on out. If you need evidence of that, look no further than him taking it right at Karl-Anthony Towns in the fourth quarter.

Play of the Game

Another night, another highlight reel dunk from Will Barton. I’m not complaining though.

Turning Point of the Game

There was 11:26 remaining in the second quarter when Foye hit his first 3-pointer of the night to give Denver a 30-24 lead. Zach LaVine answered with a 3-pointer of his own on the Timberwolves next possession. Not to be outdone Foye knocked down his second three pointer in as many possessions to put the Nuggets up 33-27. The sequence showed that No. 4 had come to play in the Twin Cities. Foye’s outside shooting explosion in the quarter catapulted the Nuggets into a double digit lead they would hold for the majority of the night.

Final Shot

Denver has now won 11 games and they have scored over 100 points in each of those victories; and with six players scoring in double digits tonight the Nuggets have now done that in six straight victories. What does this mean?

Denver is at their best when they are having fun. The Nuggets are a young squad that continues to overcome adversity and claw back into the playoff conversation despite their best efforts to fall out of that conversation. Make no mistake about it, the Nuggets are getting better and better. Enough good things cannot be said about the job being done with this team by Head Coach Michael Malone.

What’s Next

The Nuggets will face off against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Friday, Dec. 18th at 7:00 p.m. MT. As of tonight, Utah is 10-13 and tied with Denver in both the division and conference standings. It should be a great game as the Nuggets will look to win their season high fourth consecutive game.