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National Basketball Association
Denver 107, Minnesota 100
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, January 20, 2020
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #37 Eric Dalen, #28 Mousa Dagher
Attendance: 12172

Rookie Michael Porter Jr. had 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, Nikola Jokic finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-100 in Minneapolis on Monday night.

Jerami Grant scored 19 points and Will Barton added 18 for Denver, which has won seven straight against the Timberwolves. The Nuggets have won four of their past five games overall.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points, Josh Okogie scored 16 and Andrew Wiggins 15 for Minnesota, which has lost six straight.

Allen Crabbe had three points in his first game for the Timberwolves.

Denver played without three starters for the third consecutive game. Guard Jamal Murray (sprained left ankle) has been out for three, guard Gary Harris (adductor strain) has missed four in a row, and forward Paul Millsap (sprained left knee) has sat out seven straight.

Minnesota opened up a 73-69 lead late in the third quarter, but Porter helped the Nuggets come back to take an 81-79 lead heading into the fourth.

After Towns tied it on an 11-foot jumper early in the final period, Denver's Mason Plumlee scored on a dunk and a layup. Towns sank two foul shots before Porter hit a 3-pointer to put the Nuggets ahead 88-83. Keita Bates-Diop dunked, but Denver then went on a 10-3 run.

Porter hit a 3-pointer, Jokic sank a pair of free throws and Malik Beasley drilled a 3-pointer off of a steal and then scored on a layup to make it 98-88 with 5:50 left.

Towns sank a 3-pointer and Robert Covington a layup to get the Timberwolves within 102-95 with 3:14 left.

After a Denver miss on the other end, Towns converted a three-point play to get Minnesota within four. The teams traded baskets before Jokic missed a 3-point attempt, giving the Timberwolves a chance to get within a possession.

Towns missed a runner, and Barton hit a 3-pointer with 30.9 seconds left to seal it.

The Timberwolves led by 10 after Towns hit a shot midway through the second quarter, but Denver rallied in the last 5:43 to take the lead. Porter scored nine points to help the Nuggets close the period on a 19-8 run and go into the locker room ahead 55-54.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Denver   Minnesota
Michael Porter Jr. 20 Scoring Karl-Anthony Towns 28
Monte Morris 8 Assists Shabazz Napier 8
Michael Porter Jr. 14 Rebounds Josh Okogie 8
Will Barton 3 Free Throws Made Karl-Anthony Towns 8
Malik Beasley 3 Steals Jordan McLaughlin 2
Michael Porter Jr. 1 Blocks Keita Bates-Diop 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Denver 107 47.8 11-31 10-12 26 53 1 9 13
Minnesota 100 41.8 13-42 11-14 26 42 5 7 9
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .357 after a loss.
  • Denver will play their next game on the road against Houston. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .700 after a win and .692 after a loss.