Timberwolves-Denver game preview
April 10, 2019 at 6:01AM
Towns a game-time decision in season finale vs. playoff-bound Nuggets
Wolves update: Karl-Anthony Towns emerged on the Wolves' injury report because of right knee inflammation and did not play Tuesday against the Raptors. Coach Ryan Saunders said Towns would make the trip to Denver and would be a game-time decision Wednesday. If Towns can't play, Gorgui Dieng likely will start in his place again. Dieng has struggled most of this season but has played some of this best basketball in the final weeks of the season. Over his last five games entering Tuesday, Dieng was averaging 13.6 points per game on 60 percent shooting.
Nuggets update: The Nuggets entered Tuesday with a half-game lead over the Rockets for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with the Rockets holding the tiebreaker. The Nuggets have seven players averaging double figures, led by All-NBA contender Nikola Jokic at 20.2 points per game. Third-year guard Jamal Murray is averaging a career high 18.2 points while also dishing out close to five assists per game. … The Nuggets rank second in the league in assist percentage with assists on just over 65 percent of baskets, and they are No. 1 in the league in offensive rebounding percentage. The Nuggets have three players (Jokic, Mason Plumlee and Paul Millsap) who rank in the top 50 in offensive rebounds per game.
CHRIS HINE
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Portland defeated Minnesota for the second day in a row, giving up only 15 points in the second quarter and leading to a search for answers.
