Edwards misses at buzzer as Wolves fall to Nuggets 115-112
The Timberwolves were down nearly 21 feet of height on their front line entering a matchup with the MVP frontrunner in Denver center Nikola Jokic. With Karl-Anthony Towns (knee), Rudy Gobert (rib) and Naz Reid (head injury) all out, the Wolves were going to have to battle the Nuggets without the weapon they have stockpiled to take down Denver — size.
The Wolves still came to play, and they gave the Nuggets all they could handle to the last second but ultimately didn't have enough on either end of the floor as Denver came away with a 115-112 victory.
Anthony Edwards had an open look at a three-pointer as time expired, but his shot from the left wing fell short.
With the loss, the Wolves fell one game behind the Nuggets and Thunder for first place in the Western Conference.
"We're always going to battle," coach Chris Finch said. "Proud of the guys for that. … They got the momentum back and then we were chasing the game from there."
Thanks to a much-improved defensive effort in the second half, the Wolves took their largest lead of the game at 93-89, before Jokic checked back in with 7 minutes, 10 seconds to play in the fourth. The Nuggets went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to reclaim the lead. Michael Porter Jr. had 13 of his 26 points in the fourth while Jokic finished with 35. The Wolves got threes from Mike Conley and Jaden McDaniels in the final 12 seconds to set up Edwards' potential tying bucket that just missed.
Jokic added 16 rebounds while Aaron Gordon had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Edwards did all he could to lead the Wolves with 30 points on 13-for-26 shooting, eight rebounds and eight assists. But the Wolves couldn't hit enough from the outside to keep pace with Denver. They shot only 34% from three-point range compared to 52% for Denver and were 16-for-23 from the foul line. McDaniels had his best offensive game in a while with 26 points.
"He's got to keep it clean, keep it simple," Finch said of McDaniels. "Use his length, get downhill, use his finishing ability when he gets down there."
BOXSCORE: Denver 115, Timberwolves 112
Already down three centers, the Wolves lost the player who was going to defend Jokic most of the night, Kyle Anderson, to three fouls in the first three minutes. That meant a heavy dose of Luka Garza off the bench for the Wolves. Defensive rebounding was an issue for the Wolves early, as the Nuggets had 10 second-chance points in the first quarter and led by as many as 11.
"Regardless of who we have or don't have, we were looking for shortcuts defensively in the first half," Finch said. "… We weren't fighting people enough. Letting people go and we were afraid to touch them. We picked up the physicality in the second half and it made all the difference in the world."
The Wolves scrapped their way back and were within 35-28 after one quarter.
The Wolves kept the margin around that deficit for most of the second until Jokic checked back in in the latter half of the second quarter. The Nuggets shot 60% in the first half and extended their lead to as much as 18 behind 22 from Jokic and led 70-55 at the half. The Wolves opened the third on a 17-5 run that cut Denver's lead to 75-72.
Edwards was putting on a show, and after hitting a three to pull the Wolves within one, Denver called timeout and Edwards motioned for the crowd to get louder. He had 30 through three, and the Wolves went into the fourth down 87-84. The Wolves began swarming Jokic and daring anyone but him to beat them. With Porter's help, the Nuggets did.
