DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic showed his cool down the stretch after losing it earlier in the game.
Jokic scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and the Denver Nuggets scrambled late to beat Minnesota 123-116 on Tuesday night for their 10th straight win over the Timberwolves.
JaMychal Green had 17 points off the bench for the Nuggets, who squandered an 18-point lead in the first half and fell behind by eight in the third quarter. They went on a 15-0 run in the fourth to take control. Denver held Minnesota scoreless for more than five minutes during the decisive stretch.
D’Angelo Russell scored 33 points and Juancho Hernangomez added 25 against his former team. Anthony Edwards scored 15. It was the fifth straight loss for the Timberwolves.
“We didn’t play with a flow,” Hernangomez said of the fourth-quarter struggles. “We need that. We played really good the first three quarters. We have to watch film and figure it out for the next game.”
This game appeared headed toward a blowout when Denver opened a 49-31 lead with 7:30 remaining in the first half. But the Timberwolves caught fire behind the shooting of Hernangomez, who was acquired along with Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt in a deal with Denver last February.
It was the second time in three days the teams faced each other. Denver beat the Timberwolves 124-109 in Minnesota on Sunday behind Jokic’s triple-double.
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