The Denver Nuggets will go for their sixth victory in a row when they tip off against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
Denver is coming off a resounding 136-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday evening. The Nuggets have won 10 of their past 13 games.
The primary reason for Denver’s dominance has been the play of Nikola Jokic. The 26-year-old reigning NBA Most Valuable Player is averaging 26.0 points, 13.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists for the season.
Jokic barely missed getting his 13th triple-double against Milwaukee as he finished with 18 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds in 28-plus minutes. He is shooting 57.3 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from 3-point range this year.
“He can take over a game when he wants,” Nuggets guard Bryn Forbes said.
Teammate Aaron Gordon agreed.
“When ‘Jok’ is making 3s, he’s pretty much unguardable,” Gordon said. “Just the MVP doing MVP things.”
Meanwhile, Minnesota will look to build upon the momentum from its 126-106 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night. The Timberwolves have won nine of their past 14, including four straight victories at home over the Jazz, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Karl-Anthony Towns posted a triple-double in Minnesota’s latest game with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He leads the team with averages of 24.4 points and 9.4 rebounds this season to go along with 3.9 assists.
Anthony Edwards ranks second on the Timberwolves with 22.7 points per game, and D’Angelo Russell is third with 18.8 points per contest. Russell has missed two straight games because of a shin injury, and his status is uncertain for Tuesday.
After Jokic, Will Barton is second on the Nuggets with 15.4 points per game. Gordon is third with 14.7 points per game, while Monte Morris (12.6) and Jeff Green (10.4) also are averaging in double figures.
Jaden McDaniels will try to stay hot for the Timberwolves after scoring 22 points against the Jazz. He made all nine of his shot attempts, including all three attempts from 3-point range.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch praised McDaniels for his development this season.
“His confidence is growing,” Finch said. “He was down on himself and down on his shot at times. I just said to him, ‘You’re not a shooter, you’re a basketball player. So go make plays and the shots will go in. Don’t define yourself whether you make or miss shots.’
“That resonated with him because he is a basketball player. He’ll do a little bit of everything, and that’s what we need him to keep doing.”
This is the third game between the teams this season.
Denver won the first meeting 93-91 in Minneapolis on Oct. 30, and the Timberwolves answered with a 124-107 win in Denver on Dec. 15.
Edwards scored a game-high 38 points in the most recent matchup. He made 14 of 21 shots overall and 10 of 14 attempts from beyond the arc.
Minnesota is 14-10 at home this season. Denver is 15-12 on the road.
