NBA: Timberwolves salvage finale of season series with Nuggets

Anthony Edwards scored 21 points and Jaden McDaniels added 20 as the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets 117-108 on Sunday, moving a game ahead of Denver in the Western Conference standings.

Minnesota completed a three-game road trip sweep and salvaged the final matchup of the season against the Nuggets. Denver, which had won the first three games of the season series, has now lost four of its first six games since the All-Star break.

Bones Hyland contributed 18 points off the bench, Donte DiVincenzo had 17, Julius Randle scored 14, reserve Naz Reid added 11, and Rudy Gobert grabbed 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who moved into fourth place.

For Denver, Nikola Jokic came close to a triple-double with 35 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists. Jamal Murray scored 25, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 17 off the bench, and Christian Braun finished with 15 points.

The Timberwolves trailed by 11 in the first quarter but answered with a 12-0 run in the second to take a 45-38 lead. The Nuggets tied the game on Julian Strawther’s layup with 2:29 left in the period, but Minnesota closed the half on a 12-4 run to lead 58-50 at intermission.

Minnesota started the third quarter with an 8-2 run to extend the lead to 14. Denver rallied to cut it to 70-65, but DiVincenzo hit three 3-pointers in just 93 seconds to push the advantage back to 14. The Nuggets again closed the gap to five with a 13-4 run, but the Timberwolves led 90-82 going into the final quarter.

In the fourth, Minnesota opened up a 12-point lead and answered every Denver charge. Bruce Brown’s putback cut it to 96-89, but Reid’s 3-pointer and layup made it 104-92 with 7:50 remaining. Murray’s driving dunk and floater gave the Nuggets some hope, but a Timberwolves turnover led to a Gobert dunk and Edwards added a contested 3-pointer to make it 109-96 with 5:52 left. Minnesota closed out the win from there.

—Field Level Media/Reuters