The Minnesota Timberwolves, buoyed by a spectacular moment in a come-from-behind victory, will go for their fourth win in a row when they face the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday in Minneapolis.
Minnesota (47-21) will play on short rest after erasing a 16-point deficit and pulling away for a 114-104 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday in Salt Lake City. The Timberwolves finished their six-game road trip with a 4-2 record.
Now, they will open a four-game homestand with a matchup against Denver (47-21). Both teams are battling with the Oklahoma City Thunder (47-20) for the top seed in the Western Conference as the playoffs approach.
The Nuggets will be better rested but likely in a worse mood, as they are coming off a 107-105 loss at the buzzer against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Kyrie Irving made a running left-handed shot to defeat Denver. In addition to allowing Irving’s final basket, the Nuggets were outrebounded by the Mavericks 60-37.
Nuggets coach Mike Malone called attention to the rebound discrepancy after the loss.
“I can’t remember the last time we got outrebounded by (23),” Malone said.
Nikola Jokic and his teammates will try to improve on the glass against Minnesota, which is dealing with injuries to several of its best big men.
Karl-Anthony Towns is out because of a knee injury. Rudy Gobert has missed the past two games because of a rib injury, and Naz Reid left the contest due to a head injury.
Gobert hopes to return soon, but his status for Tuesday was uncertain.
“Right now, the level of pain is getting better every day, but still not good enough for me to be able to be myself and help the team,” Gobert said before Monday’s game. “Which is never fun, but hopefully it’s just a matter of days.”
Anthony Edwards has provided additional scoring with Towns and Gobert sidelined. Edwards put up a team-high 32 points on Monday, including a highlight-reel dunk over the head of Jazz defender John Collins.
Edwards’ teammates on the bench leaped from their chairs as they watched the dunk. The play quickly went viral on social media.
“He’s a special player, has that special talent,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We’re lucky to have him.”
The Nuggets would say the same about Jokic, who leads the team with 25.9 points, 12.2 rebounds and 9.1 assists this season. Jamal Murray is next on the scoring list with 20.9 points per game, and Michael Porter Jr. is averaging 16.7.
The game will be the second of four meetings between the teams during the regular season.
Minnesota won the first matchup 110-89 on Nov. 1 on its home court. Edwards led the Timberwolves with 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting, and Mike Conley chipped in 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
Jokic finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in that contest. Murray scored 14 points for Denver, which shot only 39.6 percent from the field and 18.2 percent (6 of 33) from 3-point range.
The Nuggets and Timberwolves are set to meet in Denver on March 29 and again on April 10.
–Field Level Media