Player grades from Minnesota Timberwolves’ home loss to the Nuggets
By Ben Beecken
Monday night saw the Minnesota Timberwolves dropped their sixth consecutive game, this time at home to the Denver Nuggets.
Final. 107. 73. 100. 86
The Minnesota Timberwolves continued their recent slide against likely playoff teams, dropping their third game in three tries against the Denver Nuggets on the season.
The Wolves were once again competitive against a superior team, although the Nuggets were playing without three starters as Paul Millsap, Jamal Murray, and Gary Harris were all out due to injury.
Minnesota led by three points after the first quarter and trailed by only one at halftime. Karl-Anthony Towns was great in the first quarter and Josh Okogie kept the Wolves in the game late in the second.
The Wolves continued to play well in the third quarter as Towns was again more involved. Heading into the fourth, the Wolves were down by just two.
This game wasn’t decided until the final minute. Minnesota was down by four but Towns missed going to the rim and a foul was not called on a play that easily could have gone either way. Will Barton came down and hit a 3-pointer to effectively put the game away.
The Wolves started the game hot from beyond the arc but cooled off considerably as the game went on. Rebounding was the biggest, however, as the Nuggets pulled down 53 boards to the Wolves’ 42.
Player Grades
Karl-Anthony Towns played his best all-around game since he returned from a 15-game injury absence, putting up 28 points on 9-of-19 shooting including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc. He only pulled down eight rebounds, however, which is the third time in three games that he’s failed to reach double-figures in that category. Towns also pitched in five assists compared to zero turnovers. He was also one of only three Wolves players with a positive plus-minus on the night.. Center. Minnesota Timberwolves. KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS. B+
Minnesota Timberwolves. ANDREW WIGGINS. C. <a rel=. Wing
Guard. Minnesota Timberwolves. JARRETT CULVER. C. <a rel=
C+. <a rel=. Forward. Minnesota Timberwolves. ROBERT COVINGTON
<a rel=. Guard. Minnesota Timberwolves. SHABAZZ NAPIER. B-
A. Josh Okogie continued a stretch of impressive games, ending up second on the team in scoring in this one with 16 points (7-11 FG, 1-3 3P, 1-1 FT), eight rebounds, one assist and one steal in 27 minutes off the bench. He was active on both ends of the floor and his typical dynamic self in transition. Okogie even put the ball on the floor and got to the basket a couple of times in the halfcourt as well.. Wing. Minnesota Timberwolves. JOSH OKOGIE
Other Players
Keita Bates-Diop had a strong first half with a first-quarter buzzer-beater and some impressive play in the early stages of the second quarter. He finished with nine points and three rebounds in 15 minutes while shooting 4-of-6 from the floor.
Gorgui Dieng played only 13 minutes with Towns returning to something resembling his usual workload. He still had eight points and four rebounds and made two of his three 3-point attempts.
Allen Crabbe had three points on 1-of-4 shooting in 17 minutes in his Timberwolves debut. Expect his playing time to increase somewhat in the near future, although any bump would mean less playing time for the young duo of Culver and Okogie.
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Up Next
The Wolves will head back out on the road to take on Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT.