Nuggets at Timberwolves
The Denver Nuggets have seen a hot start evaporate and they look to regain their season-opening form when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Denver was clicking on all cylinders during a 9-1 start but has since dropped six of its last seven contests.
The Nuggets are 0-2 on a three-game road trip and let a 17-point, first-half lead get away in Monday's 104-98 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. "Overall, I was really pleased with the fight, with the competitive spirit and the fact that we gave ourselves a chance against a very good basketball team on the road," Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters afterward. "No moral victories. We gotta start winning these games, but I do like the fact that our guys competed at a high level for 48 minutes." Minnesota is seeking a rebound from Sunday's 100-87 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, when it committed 20 turnovers in the team's first loss in four games since trading disgruntled Jimmy Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers. "That definitely makes the game a lot harder," forward Robert Covington, one of the players acquired for Butler, told reporters of the miscues. "That's 20 times that we didn't get a shot up or something bad happened. We've just got to be better and fight through that."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), FS North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (10-7): Point guard Jamal Murray recorded 17 points, a season-best nine assists and eight rebounds in the loss to Milwaukee but also matched his season worst of five turnovers. "I thought he did some good things out there for us," Malone told reporters of Murray. "I think, for him, the challenge is going to be valuing the basketball. As a starting point guard, you can't have five turnovers. But overall, forget numbers, it was good to see him be aggressive and have an effective game. He looked more aggressive than he has lately." Murray scored in double figures in 14 straight games, topped by a career-high 48 points against the Boston Celtics on Nov. 5.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (7-10): Small forward Andrew Wiggins suffered through a 6-for-18 effort while scoring 14 points against Memphis and he said his shot selection wasn't the issue. "I feel like I just missed so many easy ones around the rim and in the mid-range with no one on me," Wiggins told reporters. "Good shots, I just missed them." Center Karl-Anthony Towns collected 20 rebounds against the Grizzlies for his second contest of at least 20 boards in the past four games and he has recorded eight double-doubles over the last 11 games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Timberwolves went 3-1 against the Nuggets last season, including a 112-106 overtime victory on the final day of the season to make the playoffs instead of Denver.
2. Minnesota PG Jeff Teague scored a season-low two points on 1-of-9 shooting against Memphis.
3. Denver C Nikola Jokic scored 20 points against the Bucks and tallied 20 or more in four of the past six games.