The Denver Nuggets were shorthanded, on the road and facing their biggest rival in the Minnesota Timberwolves…didn’t matter. Four Nuggets starters scored 20+ points, Nikola Jokic got yet another triple double and Denver used a big fourth quarter to ultimately put Anthony Edwards and the Wolves. Great win for Denver and they move to 10-2 on the season.

The game started with a fast pace and the Nuggets were able to build a lead while they were hitting their threes. After that both teams went cold and w went about 90 seconds without either side making a shot. Tim Hardaway Jr. was doing a nice job filling in on offense and got some freethrows to keep building Denver’s lead. Midway through the quarter Minnesota’s offense finally woke up with Jaden Mcdaniels scoring and facilitating. AS the first drew to an end, Edwards kept attacking the basket. It usually resulted in a layup or a trip to the free throw line. That led a run and Naz Reid hit a three at the buzzer to get the Wolves the lead back. After one they were up 31-29.

Murray started cooking while Jokic was on the bench to start the second and that quickly got the Nuggets back in front. They traded baskets with the Wolves after that as the bench held their own. Things started getting chippy midway through the second quarter which resulted in the Wolves getting a tech. That seemed to fire up Minnesota and they went on a run. They got up five and Denver took a timeout. The lead stayed stuck there a bit while both teams struggled on offense. The Nuggets went on a mini-run behind Jokic and Murray and pulled back within one with two minutes left in the half. The teams went back and forth with the half winding down but Minnesota closed strong and went to the locker room leading 60-55.

The game stayed chippy to open the third quarter. Rudy Gobert was called for a flagrant foul early on and Denver was able to tie the game. Once again it went back and forth and the game remained close. Halfway through the third Denver clung to a small lead. It got extremely sloppy after that, and the game looked similar to a 12U basketball game I watched earlier. A little further on in the quarter, the Nuggets went on a run and took the lead behind Jokic. They controlled the game heading towards the end of the third but couldn’t pull away. Some sloppiness right at the end of the quarter let the Wolves come back, and after three the Nuggets lead was limited to 87-86.

Gordon hit a couple shots to open the fourth and kept Denver in front. The bench continued to play strong, they went on an 8-0 run with some help from AG and forced a Minnesota timeout. Denver was able to stay in front but once again couldn’t get much separation. Tim Hardaway Jr was playing great, as he had all night, but there wasn’t a ton of help. Still, Minnesota was stagnating. Jokic applied pressure and carried the Nuggets offense down the stretch but Edwards was not going to go quietly into the night. Murray drew a foul on Reid with a little over three minutes to go to foul him out bb and the Nuggets looked like they were on their way to victory. They pushed the lead to double digits and that was all she wrote. Great win for Denver, they emerge from Minneapolis victorious, 123-112.