Nuggets-Timberwolves Grades: Denver comes up clutch again

The Denver Nuggets got their fourth-straight win Thursday night, a 100-96 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The win moved Denver into a tie with Minnesota for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference (the Timberwolves still lead the head-to-head tiebreaker 2-1 over the Nuggets with one game between the two teams).

Here’s how each Nuggets player graded out.

*Our game grades are dictated by our Dynamic Player Rating (DPR), which take into account 12 different statistical factors.

Jamal Murray (C+) 62.46  — Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap struggled offensively against Minnesota, so Jamal Murray picked up the slack. He finished with a team-high 22 points and hit a couple momentum-turning shots including a big pull-up three in transition to spark Denver’s offense.

Will Barton (C) 56.97  — Barton continues to fill in admirably for Gary Harris, who’s still sidelined with a knee injury. Barton finished with 14 points, six rebounds and six assists in a team-high 40 minutes.

Wilson Chandler (C-) 51.21 — Chandler’s lost the aggressive edge that he was playing with on the offensive end of the floor a month or two ago and the Nuggets’ could have used more offense from him against the Timberwolves. He finished with 10 points but his defense was solid as always.

Paul Millsap (D+) 47.09  — After finding his rhythm on offense in wins over the Thunder and Bucks, Millsap has been inefficient on that end of the floor in his past two games. He was just 3-12 from the field last night but his veteran savvy and leadership continues to be valuable to the Nuggets.

Nikola Jokic (C-) 67.52 — After Jokic has just pieced together the best month of his career, he put up a clunker against Minnesota. Jokic was just 6-14 from the field but was in the right place at the right time for the game-sealing tip-in on Denver’s last possession.

Devin Harris (B-) 66.49  — Denver’s deadline deal to acquire Harris paid off in a big way Thursday. Harris scored 20 points — the most he’s scored in a Nuggets’ jersey — and shot 5-9 from three-point land. His trio of threes late in the third quarter was huge in Denver getting themselves back into a position to win at the end of regulation.

Mason Plumlee (C-) 52.76 — Plumlee’s 22 minutes were the most he’s played in the past nine game and he finished as a plus-one Thursday night. Plumlee recorded six points, seven rebounds, two assists and a block.

Torrey Craig (D-) 34.49 — Craig logged 16 minutes and was a plus-two off Denver’s bench. He was able to spell Chandler and Barton on Andrew Wiggins who only scored nine points on 4-12 shooting.

Trey Lyles (Inc.) — Lyles only played four minutes, but Denver immediately rattled off an 11-0 run when he entered the game. Denver could have used his offense but gave Plumlee more minutes because of Karl-Anthony Towns’ presence.