Denver Nuggets 78
Minnesota Timberwolves 74
The struggles continued for the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday night. The Wolves fell to Denver 78-74 at Target Center.
It was Minnesota’s fourth straight defeat.
1. Wolves continue struggles from deep
There’s no doubting the Timberwolves are one of the worst shooting teams from the three-point line. Wednesday night they finished just 3-of-11 from behind the arc – five fewer threes than the Nuggets who, knocked down eight triples.
Danilo Gallinari finished with 20 points to lead Denver he was 2-of-2 from the three-point line.
Ricky Rubio had nine for Minnesota including 2 threes.
2. Wolves impress with ball movement
One area where Minnesota showed vast improvement following their team meeting Tuesday was in ball movement. The Wolves finished with 23 assists, on their 28 field goals.
Rubio led the way with seven assists, while Zach LaVine had four.
3. Defensive stops down the stretch
The Timberwolves had plenty of chances to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Minnesota got stop after stop down the stretch, but failed to hit the shot to tie it up or take the lead.
It was a low scoring quarter.
Great basketball: Two teams have combined for 19 points in the fourth quarter.
— Kent Youngblood (@BloodStrib) January 7, 2016
The two teams combined for just two points over the last four minutes of the game – both were free throws by Nuggets forward Will Barton with less than 10 seconds to play.
Tweet of the Night:
Pek is back, and it didn’t take him long to get on the scoreboard!
He's back! Nikola Pekovic puts away a rebound in his @Timberwolves return. They're live now on @fsnorth https://t.co/aFFjf8MfAX
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) January 7, 2016
He finished with 12 points in 16 minutes on the night.
Up Next:
The Wolves (12-24) host Cleveland on Friday night.
