The Timberwolves played some of their best basketball without Karl-Anthony Towns in the lineup on Sunday, but it wasn't enough for them to avoid another lopsided defeat in a 124-109 loss to the Nuggets at Target Center.
The Wolves ended the third quarter with an 84-83 lead but Denver took control in the opening minutes of the fourth with a 17-0 run behind Nikola Jokic, who finished with 19, and strong bench minutes from Facundo Campazzo, who had 15.
Jamal Murray had 36 to lead Denver though his production wasn't needed during that fourth quarter burst when the Wolves went 4 minutes, 22 seconds without a point.
D'Angelo Russell shook off a rough first half to ignite the Wolves in the third quarter with 18 points and seven assists while Malik Beasley had a good night shooting (10-for-16) against his former team with 25 points. Jarrett Culver added 20.
Looking for a spark, Ryan Saunders switched up his starting lineup, with Russell, Beasley, Ed Davis, Juancho Hernangomez and Culver getting the nod.
In the first half the Wolves didn't do so hot when the Nuggets had Jokic and Murray on the floor together. When neither or one was one the floor, the Wolves made their runs. Specifically, their second unit closed what was turning into a rout early into a ballgame. Jokic was plus-13 for the half, with Murray a plus-9.
The Nuggets had built an 11-point lead, 20-9, in the opening minutes, but Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid helped push the Wolves back. Edwards had four first-half assists (though he also had three first-half turnovers) while Reid put in solid minutes without having to go toe-to-toe with Jokic. He had six points and also held his own defensively.
Ricky Rubio also helped the offense run smoothly with six points and three first-half assists.
It was after a Reid layup that the Wolves had a 34-33 lead.
When Jokic and Murray retook the floor together in the second quarter, however, the Nuggets got cooking again, specifically Murray, who scored seven straight to put Denver up 40-34. That lead was 53-41 when Jokic committed his third offensive foul of the half, forcing an early exit to the half for him. The Wolves were able to cut that to 55-48 at intermission despite 26 from Murray. Russell was just 2-for-8 in the first half.
But that wasn't the Russell who showed up for the third quarter. Russell looked like a changed player after halftime, and looked more like the player the Wolves envision as an important part of their future. He went 4 of 6 in the third quarter while dishing out four assists, even stealing the ball from Jokic on one possession. Russell found synergy with Beasley, who continued his hot shooting -- and comments for Denver's bench after each basket -- as the Wolves pulled ahead 84-83 headed into the fourth.
But with Russell resting for the stretch run, the Wolves fell behind in the opening minutes of the fourth. A couple threes from Monte Morris and Campazzo forced a Saunders timeout amid an 11-0 Denver run and 94-86 lead. But all Denver did out of the timeout was score another six points. The Wolves couldn't as they went through that scoring drought of 4:22. Denver took a 100-86 lead as Saunders called another timeout with 7:21 to play.
Just like that, Denver dashed any hope the Wolves had of getting their first win without Towns in the lineup.
