Minnesota Timberwolves beat Denver Nuggets 113-96 at home on Thursday, April 23, never trailing at a quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Timberwolves had the better start, winning the first 25-11 to lead by 14 after one. The Timberwolves kept the pressure on with a 36-28 second quarter, carrying a 22-point lead into halftime.
The Nuggets won the third 29-27 to stay in front, taking a 20-point lead into the fourth. The Nuggets took the fourth 28-25; the Timberwolves held on for a 113-96 regulation win.
What decided it
The Timberwolves got more from their shots, finishing at 52.2% effective field-goal shooting compared with 39% for the Nuggets. The Timberwolves grabbed 26.1% of their own misses, while the Nuggets recovered 12.8%. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Nuggets did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 39 against 17.2. The Timberwolves made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 102 possessions per team, the Timberwolves produced 110.9 points per 100 possessions to 94.2 for the Nuggets.
Who made the difference
Ayo Dosunmu was the game's biggest individual force for MIN: 25 pts, 3 reb, 9 ast on 10-15 shooting. His Game Score of 22.9 led everyone. His team was +11 with him on the floor.
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 27 pts, 15 reb, 3 ast on 7-26 shooting, good for a 15.8 Game Score.
Jaden McDaniels (20 pts, 10 reb, 3 ast), Rudy Gobert (10 pts, 12 reb, 3 ast), and Nikola Jokic (27 pts, 15 reb, 3 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 51% for the Timberwolves.
Across the last 10 meetings in our records, Minnesota Timberwolves lead 6-4.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.