The Denver Nuggets still haven’t solved the Minnesota Timberwolves. Since the T-Wolves defeated the Nuggets in last year’s seven-game Western Conference semifinals, Denver has lost two regular-season matchups with Minnesota.
That includes a 133–104 blowout loss to the T-Wolves on Saturday.
Anthony Edwards scored 34 points with nine assists to lead Minnesota. In the process, he became Minnesota’s franchise leader in 3-pointers made, jumping past Karl-Anthony Towns with 976 career triples. Edwards also set the mark with some flash, nailing his 3 from the center-court logo.
Julius Randle added 20 points with seven points and seven assists, while Rudy Gobert scored 14 points with 14 rebounds and four steals for the T-Wolves, who improved their record to 24–21 as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
In addition to the defeat, Nikola Jokić’s streak of consecutive triple-doubles ended at five. The Nuggets center scored 20 points and dished out 11 assists, but only grabbed three rebounds in his matchup with Gobert. He also had seven turnovers.
Denver was led by Jamal Murray’s 25 points and five assists, while Russell Westbrook and Aaron Gordon each scored 13. With the loss, the Nuggets dropped to 28–17 and 1 1/2 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies at the West’s No. 4 spot.
In last season’s playoffs, the Nuggets — then the defending NBA champions — lost their second-round series to the T-Wolves after taking a 3–2 series lead. Denver was blown out in Game 6, 115–70, then blew a 20-point lead in Game 7 and lost 98–90.
In their previous matchup this season, Minnesota won 119–116 with Edwards hitting the go-ahead shot with 25 seconds remaining while scoring 29 for the game. Randle added 23 with six rebounds and seven assists, followed by Gobert’s 17 points and 14 rebounds. Gordon tallied a game-high 31 points with Jokić and Michael Porter Jr. each scoring 26.
The Nuggets get a day off before continuing their five-game road trip by visiting the Chicago Bulls (19–26) on Monday. The Timberwolves also play on Monday, but stay at home to host the Atlanta Hawks (22–22).
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