DENVER (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 21 points, Bones Hyland had 15 of his 18 points in the first half against his former team, and the Minnesota Timberwolves moved a game ahead of Denver in the Western Conference with a 117-108 win over the Nuggets on Sunday.
Minnesota swept its three-game trip to improve to 38-23 and jump into fourth in the West, beating Denver for the first time in four games this season.
There are just two games separating third-seeded Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers in sixth place, with Los Angeles set to host Sacramento later Sunday.
“Everyone around the league knows what’s at stake when you look at the standings, and every single night these games feel just so big,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said before tipoff.
Nikola Jokic finished with 35 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists but couldn’t carry the Nuggets over their Northwest Division rivals. Jamal Murray had 25 points on 9-of-22 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
Denver has lost four of six games since the All-Star break. The Nuggets have been without forward Aaron Gordon since Jan. 30 because of a hamstring injury, and Peyton Watson is also sidelined with a hamstring strain.
Minnesota led 58-50 at halftime and went up 83-69 after Donte DiVincenzo made three 3-pointers. Denver cut it to five late in the third but the Timberwolves answered to lead 104-92 with 7:05 left.
Murray provided a spark with a driving dunk over Rudy Gobert, but Minnesota responded with five straight points and Edwards’ 3-pointer made it 109-96. The Nuggets got no closer than seven in the final 3:49.
Up next
Timberwolves: Host Memphis on Tuesday night.
Nuggets: At Utah on Monday night.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
