March 1, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Christian Brown (0) defends Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) during the first quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Image Anthony Edwards finished with 21 points, Jayden McDaniels had 20, and the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves beat Denver 117-108 on Sunday to move ahead of the Nuggets in the Western Conference standings.
Minnesota swept a three-game road trip and won its final game of the season against Denver. After winning their first three games, the Nuggets lost four of their first six games at the All-Star break.
Bones Hyland scored 18 points off the bench, Donte DiVincenzo had 17 points, Julius Randle had 14 points, reserve Naz Reid had 11 points and Rudy Gobert had 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who moved up to fourth place.
Nikola Jokic nearly had a triple-double with 35 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, Jamal Murray scored 25 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 17 points off the bench and Christian Brown added 15 points for Denver.
Minnesota responded to all the criticism by taking a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter. The lead was reduced to 96-89 due to Bruce Brown’s throwback, but the lead made a 3-pointer and a layup with 7:50 left to make it 104-92.
Murray hit a driving dunk out of a timeout and a floater in the lane over Hyland to give the Nuggets some life. A turnover gave them a chance to deepen the lead, but an errant pass led to Gobert’s dunk and Edwards’ 3-pointer to make it 109-96 with 5:52 left, which the Timberwolves held off.
After falling behind by 11 points in the first quarter, Minnesota scored 12 consecutive points in the second quarter to take a 45-38 lead. The Nuggets tied the game on Julian Strawther’s layup with 2:29 left in the period, but the Timberwolves closed the half on a 12-4 run for a 58-50 lead at the break.
Minnesota scored on its third 8-2 run to take a 14-point lead, but Denver rallied and cut it to 70-65. DiVincenzo’s three 3-pointers in a 93-second span stretched the advantage back to 14 points midway through the third.
The Nuggets went on a 13-4 run to get back within five, but the Timberwolves took a 90-82 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.
–Field level media
