Timberwolves at Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets’ two-game string of strong offense abruptly came to an end earlier this week, and they would like to see it return. The Nuggets will try to bounce back from their ninth loss in 11 games when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
Denver dropped eight in a row before shooting over 45 percent in back-to-back wins at Toronto and Philadelphia, but slipped to 33.3 percent from the field in Tuesday’s 85-74 home loss to the Orlando Magic. "Our attention to detail, our ability to lock in and focus and have discipline is poor right now,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters. “That has a lot to do with us being a team that plays 36-40 minutes a night and not 48 minutes.” The Timberwolves needed overtime to salvage the finale of a four-game homestand by beating the struggling Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. The 123-122 triumph snapped a four-game slide overall and sent the team back out for a stretch in which it plays five of seven on the road, where Minnesota owns a 6-3 record.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (9-12): Kevin Martin broke out of a shooting slump and buried six 3-pointers en route to 37 points on Wednesday but hurt his wrist in the process. The veteran guard, who went scoreless in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, will undergo more testing on Thursday to determine the severity of the injury and is officially listed as day-to-day. Minnesota could lean more on rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns, who posted 26 points and 14 rebounds on Wednesday for his 10th double-double.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (8-14): Denver was outscored 54-34 in the paint and had only one player (Randy Foye at 2-of-3) shoot 50 percent or better from the field Tuesday. "We got to the rim all night long,” Malone told reporters. “We lived at the rim. We just didn't convert. Got open looks, couldn't make a shot. Some of our turnovers had nothing to do with them. We looked like the Bad News Bears, man.” That setback marked the Nuggets’ fifth straight at home, and they have been outscored by an average of 11.8 points in that span.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nuggets G Gary Harris, who missed the last six games with a concussion, could return on Friday.
2. Timberwolves F Shabazz Muhammad scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
3. The road team has taken four straight in the series, including Minnesota’s 95-78 win at Denver on Oct. 30.