Towns Hands Denver a Narrow Loss in Minnesota: Takeaways
Gary Harris returned to action for the Nuggets in style, scoring 22 points on 9/13 shooting, nearly leading Denver to back-to-back wins despite another monstrous performance from Karl Anthony Towns.
But alas, Denver loss, largely thanks to poor and unintelligent play in the 4th quarter. With this loss, Denver fell to 2-7 on the season in second-games of back-to-back sets.
From the start, the Nuggets and Timberwolves were both clearly in for a fight, and while Denver seemed in control for most of the game, Minnesota ultimately got the win thanks to a late game run that closed a 9 point 4th quarter deficit and gave them a 2 point lead going into the final 30 seconds of the game.
Denver ended with 6 players in double-digits, including rookie Jamal Murray, who saw a welcome return to scoring form.
Nikola Jokic was among this group as well, as he provided another stat-stuffing performance, but was ultimately out-done by the number one draft pick of his class.
The Nuggets, while struggling to keep Karl Anthony Towns quiet, certainly had a chance to come away with the win, blown by their lackluster performance in closing out the basketball game.
As the final buzzer approached, Denver handed momentum over to the Timberwolves, who walked away with the win behind another stellar performance from Karl Anthony Towns.
Frustrated Nuggets fans may be pointing their fingers at Jameer Nelson after this one, as he committed an unnecessary intentional foul in the final minute (sending Minnesota to the line when Denver had time to force a miss and get the ball back with time to score) and took/missed the potential game winning/tying shots that Denver needed to fall.
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But in the end, most NBA fans know that passing the blame onto one player is generally an act of therapy, as there is almost always a bigger picture to look at.
Jan 22, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) dribbles in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson (1) at Target Center. The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 111-108. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Jameer Nelson will likely take some heat from fans, but there were larger forces at work against Denver, including one 7 foot force named Karl Anthony Towns.
Towns dropped 32 points on 13/19 shooting, with 12 rebounds and 7 assists. There is no question about it, this kid is a BEAST.
While Denver has their own 7 foot beast in the making, in Nikola Jokic, Towns proved that he is still one step ahead of the game, and dismantled the Nuggets slowly, consistently, and confidently. With a hot start, Towns led the Timberwolves to an early points in-the-paint advantage, as the team started with an incredible 12-12 efficiency while shooting from inside.
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From there, Towns started extending his range, passing the ball, and essentially setting his team up for the narrow victory.
After Towns stole Denver’s attention early, he was either scoring or causing other T-Wolves to see all of the room that they needed to score, similarly to when San Antonio used Kawhi Leonard to scramble Denver’s defense.
This helped Andrew Wiggins score 24 points on 10/19 shooting, going 2-4 from downtown (where he does not typically excel) while also opening the floor for Shabazz Muhammad and Kris Dunn to go to work, scoring 20 points, and notching 10 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds, respectively.
Minnesota shot a collective 53.6% form the field, but Denver was not far behind, at 51.2% shooting from the field. However, Denver went a mere 7/24 from beyond the arch, painfully reminding fans of their early season woes. Shooting too many threes has been an issue with this Nuggets team, and combined with their lack of closing-power, points to a team that let fatigue get the better of them.
Jan 22, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) drives in the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Seeing close games slip away is never easy, but this loss would not come without some bright spots.
The Nuggets still showed some signs of brilliance, as Nikola Jokic continued his multi-categorical contributions, and generally good shooting was once again with the Nuggets. Particularly, Jamal Murray saw a hot-handed night, as he ended with 17 points on 7/13 shooting.
As he got on a roll, ridiculous at-the-rim finishes continued to drop in bunches, proving that there was talent at work, and much more than luck.
Seeing Denver’s rookie play with the same confidence that earned him the Western Conference’s Rookie of the Month award just a few months back was perhaps the single greatest takeaway from this game, as Nuggets fans should be reminded of just how much potential their organization has moving forward.
Sunday night, despite an 18 point, 8 rebound, and 4 assist performance, Nikola Jokic was bested by Karl Anthony Towns, but the two young teams will face again before the season ends, and fans will likely be in for yet another close and hard fought game.
If nothing else, it is clear that two teams have developed a bit of a rivalry, one that continues to grow in intensity as both teams come closer to facing their shared goal of reaching the playoffs.
