Nuggets 106, Timberwolves 102
Kenneth Faried delivered a season-high 26 points and a career-high 25 rebounds as Denver held off visiting Minnesota.
Faried went 11-of-15 from the floor and grabbed 12 of his boards off the offensive glass for the Nuggets, who earned their third straight home win. Wilson Chandler added 21 points and Ty Lawson collected 16 points and 11 assists for Denver.
Thaddeus Young scored 23 points and Andrew Wiggins scored 22 for the Timberwolves, who have dropped seven straight. Gorgui Dieng had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Shabazz Muhammad scored 14 points for Minnesota.
Muhammad’s dunk capped a 14-5 run beginning the fourth quarter and left the Timberwolves in front 88-84 with seven minutes remaining before the Nuggets recovered and grabbed a 94-91 lead. Young’s layup knotted it at 98 but Lawson hit a layup and found Timofey Mozgov for a dunk to give Denver a 102-99 edge, and Minnesota never got back in front.
The Nuggets took a 53-47 lead into the half behind 14 points and 14 rebounds from Faried and pushed the lead to 10 on Lawson’s jumper with 7:09 left in the third. The Timberwolves cut the deficit down to three-points before settling for a 79-74 gap heading into the fourth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Nuggets F Darrell Arthur (leg strain) was active after a four-game absence but did not get into the game. … Mozgov added 14 rebounds as Denver built up a 62-44 advantage on the glass. … Faried was limited to 30 minutes due to foul trouble but still managed to post his second consecutive double-double.