The Denver Nuggets fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-104 Wednesday night after leading for a majority of the game. Even after being up by as many as 14 points, Denver collapsed in the fourth quarter which dropped their record to 11-3 at the Pepsi Center this season. It was the Nuggets’ first loss in the last nine home games.
The Timberwolves drew first blood as Karl-Anthony Towns made a quick layup out of the gate to get the game started. Jamal Murray followed up with a three-point shot to give the Nuggets a 3-2 lead which they would hold onto until All-Star Jimmy Butler made a pull-up jumper with 3:47 remaining in the first half.
Denver went on to regain the lead before the half ended and maintained it throughout the entirety of the third quarter, but Minnesota pulled ahead 85-84 at the 10:57 mark in the fourth quarter.
The two teams traded blows from there, but Minnesota managed to establish a 102-95 lead with just under four minutes to play and never looked back.
Both Butler and Towns had their away against Denver’s defense as they posted 25 points each. Towns grabbed 10 boards and Bulter hit a just enough clutch shots late to ice the game for Minnesota.
Before the game, Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone said his team needed to protect the paint and limit turnovers to come out victorious. Denver did not do either as they allowed Minnesota to score 52 points in the paint while committing 21 turnovers for 21 points with Nikola Jokic being responsible for 10 of them — a career-high for him.
Denver will now hit the road for back-to-back games against the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors. The tip-off for the game against Portland is scheduled for Friday at 8 p.m. MST.
Click HERE for a full video recap of tonight’s game…
