Nuggets at Timberwolves
Both the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves are battered and beaten of late but one side is assured of ending the first half on a high note when they meet in Minnesota Wednesday. Denver has dropped three straight and five of its last seven and will hit the floor shorthanded with a slew of injuries, leaving coach Brian Shaw thankful for the upcoming rest. "That's why whoever did the schedule many years ago," he told the Denver Post, "put in an all-star break so that guys could recuperate."
Minnesota has experienced similar misfortune lately, losing its last four games and six of its last seven to fall to four games under .500. The Timberwolves were easily handled at home against Houston Monday, despite the return of leading scorer Kevin Love, who missed two of the previous three games with a bruised thigh and played without starters Nikola Pekovic (ankle) and Kevin Martin (thumb). "Hopefully, we'll (beat Denver) on Wednesday," Love told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "go into the break, get a few days' rest and guys will get healthy."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (24-26): Denver's most notable absence is that of Ty Lawson, who broke a rib against Detroit on Saturday and is out indefinitely. Without Lawson, the Nuggets have no true point guard, forced to play Randy Foye out of position with Nate Robinson (knee) out for the season and Andre Miller kept away from the team since a Jan. 1 shouting match with Shaw. "I know we're not where we're supposed to be," Foye told reporters, "but I think one game under .500 (prior to Monday's loss to Indiana), with all of those guys going down, it just shows the heart we have as a team."
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (24-28): Love, whose 25.7 points per game ranks fourth in the NBA in scoring, managed a team-high 31 points in Monday's loss, despite the thigh injury and lingering stiffness in his back, neck and tailbone area resulting from a fall in Minnesota's win over the Los Angeles Lakers Feb. 4. "It was tough to get up and down the court most of all," he said, noting that at this point in the season, "It's just the way it goes." Pekovic has missed eight consecutive games while Martin has sat out two in a row and the Timberwolves will likely have to go without each against Denver as well.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Minnesota coach Rick Adelman missed Monday's game tending to personal matters but is expected back against the Nuggets.
2. Denver has allowed at least 100 points in 13 of its last 14 games.
3. The Timberwolves have lost three in a row to the Nuggets, including both contests this year, allowing Denver 117 points on both occasions.