Behind 32 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists from Karl-Anthony Towns, the Minnesota Timberwolves held off the Denver Nuggets 111-108.
A parade to the free-throw line over the game’s last two minutes saw Minnesota miss two free-throws before Jameer Nelson was off on a 17-footer with two seconds remaining with Denver down two. A buzzer-beating three in the corner from Nelson with one second remaining was off as the Nuggets dropped a very winnable game to a division rival.
For Denver, Gary Harris led the way with 22 points on 9-13 shooting. Rookie Jamal Murray scored 17 points on 7-13 shooting off the bench and Nikola Jokic chipped in 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes.
Besides Towns, Minnesota got a healthy 24 points on 10-19 shooting from Andrew Wiggins and 20 points off the bench from Shabazz Muhammad.
A hyper-efficient first quarter from Jokic where the second-year center scored six points on 2-3 shooting to go with three rebounds and three assists bled over into the second quarter, which was the Murray show.
Playing extended minutes at backup point guard, Murray played seven minutes in the second quarter and scored 12 points on 5-8 shooting. Murray and Harris were the only two Nuggets players to finish the half with a positive plus-minus.
The Nuggets led 54-49 when Murray exited the game with 4:39 left in the second quarter. From there, Minnesota went on a 13-4 run to close the half. Murray who got the lionshare of the minutes at backup point guard with Emmanuel Mudiay sidelined with a back injury provided Denver a potential glimpse into their future at the position. Murray scored from everywhere on the floor; from three, at the rim, and from mid-range.
In the first half, Denver shot 59.5 percent from the field but was just 2-8 from three. The Timberwolves shot 61.4 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from three and scored 18 points off Denver’s ten first-half turnovers to take a 62-58 lead into the break.
A tight game seeped into the fourth quarter but not before Towns poured in 11 points in the third. Towns and Jokic went at eachother tonight. It was an exciting matchup featuring two of the league’s young big men with bright futures.
Arthur, who’s battled knee soreness all year, helped the Nuggets stretch their advantage to 9 with 5:47 left in the fourth. The 28-year-old scored four points early in the quarter and played spectacular defense on Towns with Jokic on the bench.
Then, a 12-2 Minnesota run gave the Timberwolves a one-point lead with 3:00 minutes left. The two teams traded buckets until Nelson used up Denver’s last good possession with two seconds remaining as he closed the game over Murray.
With the loss, the Nuggets dropped to 18-26 on the season.
Footnotes
Harris returned from a right ankle sprain that sidelined the shooting guard for the past three games. Showing no ill-effects of the injury, Harris started and played 35 minutes in the loss.
Mudiay did not travel with the team after experiencing lower back pain in the Nuggets’ win over the Clippers Saturday. Mudiay stayed in Denver to get treatment. Nelson started at point guard in Mudiay’s place.
What’s next
The Nuggets are back home in Denver this week for games against the Jazz (Tuesday), and Suns (Thursday).
0 Comments (2 conversations)
Jamal Murray should be the identity of the second unit right now. He may be a better scorer with the ball in his hands as a point than he is at the off guard running around like Reggie Miller. He is definitely not one dimensional as he can shoot a variety of shots while also making smart plays and passes for his teammates. At the point, I think his game creates better opportunities for him to score closer to the basket. I think Malone was impressed that Murray only had 1 turnover tonight while getting good numbers in points, rebounds and assists in only 20 mins. Coach, just think about if Murray can get 15 min at the 2 guard and 15 min at the backup point–what those stats will look like? He already is one of our leaders by example with his shooting, tempo and effort. If we can maximize our offensive talent and increase our defensive effort by the regular season end, we will have a very exciting playoff series with Golden State. Thanks, Coach.
Thanks for the comment as always. The predicament around Murray is so tough, one less guy in the backcourt would ease a lot of the pains Malone has when managing minutes. Tonight he really showed some glimpses and flashes of potential and probably should have been on the floor to close the game. I’d love to see him play more backup point guard with the second unit, and I think he will.
Give jamal the extension now ,,, Jokic as well … God I hope this team can be good again ,, trade a good couple pieces to move up in the draft this year ,, or a major move — we need to make a statement to the future of this organization . I think a top 5 pick , to a kid with at least 2 years in the ncaa makes sense …