Denver Nuggets bounce back against Timberwolves
After a three-day break following a rough stretch, the Denver Nuggets played one of their more impressive games of the season.
After dropping four of their last five games the Denver Nuggets took a much-needed break and returned against the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night looking refreshed.
They put together a dominant win over a Timberwolves team — despite a 34-point performance from Karl-Anthony Towns.
Nuggets offense firing on all cylinders
The calling card of the nuggets offense this season has been sharing the ball and creating great looks with good ball movement and an ability to always find the open man.
The Nuggets had 40 assists on 51 made shots and shot 60 percent from the field. Jamal Murray had a phenomenal night with 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead the Nuggets. Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic also had good nights with with 23 on 8-of-12 shooting and 18 on 9-of-14 shooting, respectively.
The Nuggets as a team caught fire from behind the 3-point line, including an outburst of threes in the third quarter where the Nuggets shot 7-of-12 from behind the arc capped off by a half-court buzzer beater from Paul Millsap.
The 18 3’s the Nuggets made Tuesday night tied a handful of other games for the second most Denver has made in a game this season — and they shot a season best 60 percent from beyond the arc.
The Nuggets outscored the Timberwolves from behind the arc 54-33 while still beating the T-wolves in the paint 54-50.
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Nugget’s locked in defense
The Nuggets defense early in the year was looking much improved compared to years past but has recently started to slip, allowing 35-point quarters in three of their last four losses including
a 40-point second quarter from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Tuesday night the Nugget’s defense looked active and engaged holding the T-wolves to 20 points in the first quarter on 7-of-22 shooting.
Defensively the Nuggets focused on stopping the T-wolves from behind the arc limiting the volume of open looks the and allowing KAT to live in the Nugget’s painted area.
In the paint, he scored 24 points on 12-of-18 shooting but the Nuggets held the T-wolves next leading scorer, Tyus Jones, to 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and no other T-wolves starter had over 10 points.
Finishing out the week with wins
The Denver Nuggets face the struggling Dallas Mavericks and rookie sensation Luka Dončić Thursday March in Denver.
The Mavericks are 1-9 in their last 10 including a 39-point bludgeoning at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nuggets then close out the week Saturday in Denver against the Indiana Pacers — who without star Victor Oladipo have remained competitive with decent wins against good teams through tough defense and high-efficiency 3-point shooting.
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The Nuggets should be favorites in both games as they put pressure on the Golden State Warriors, who hold just a one-game lead over the Nuggets for the top seed and have a tough end to the week with road games in Houston and Oklahoma City.