Nikola Jokic's triple-double leads Nuggets' rally over Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves led for most of the night, but a triple-double from Nikola Jokic helped the Denver Nuggets pull out a 122-118 victory late on Wednesday night.
The Wolves frustrated Jokic early as he picked up three fouls and could have had a fourth foul if it weren't for an overturned call after elbowing Naz Reid. Eventually, the Nuggets' star found his rhythm, scoring 31 points, pulling down 11 rebounds and dishing out 13 assists to lead the way.
The Timberwolves were at a disadvantage against Jokic as Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert continue to be sidelined with injuries. Reid did his best to make up for it scoring 17 points after getting the start at center.
Minnesota also got a solid night from Luka Garza, who came off the bench to score 16 points.
Despite a balanced output that saw seven Timberwolves score in double-figures, the Nuggets made their move after a 3-pointer from D'Angelo Russell gave Minnesota a 118-113 lead with 2:51 to play in the fourth quarter.
A pair of free throws from Jokic and a 3-pointer tied the game at 118 with 2:05 to play and a floater by Murray gave the Nuggets a 120-118 lead with 55.2 seconds to go. Anthony Edwards couldn't get a shot to fall on the following possession, setting up Jokic's final assist of the night – a two-handed slam by Aaron Gordon – to put the game away.
Jaden McDaniels led Minnesota with 18 points while Kyle Anderson had a double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Russell had 13 points and seven assists, Edwards had 16 points and nine rebounds and Taurean Prince had 14 points.
Murray had 28 points for Denver, Bruce Brown had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists and Gordon had 12 points in the win.
The Timberwolves fell to 22-24 on the year and will host the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.
