Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was an assistant in Denver when the Nuggets were coalescing from a young team with talent into a playoff team. So, before the Nuggets played Saturday at Target Center, Finch was asked what he took away from his time in Denver.
Wolves fade at the finish in narrow home loss to Nuggets
League MVP Nikola Jokic carried Denver to a late rally.
October 31, 2021 at 4:23AM
"That they were going to be really good,'' Finch said. "I've said it many times, I got a lot of similar feelings when I came here with the young core as when I was there. It took a couple seasons for it to fall together, and now they're a playoff lock. And, hopefully, we can follow that same path.''
Perhaps.
But the Wolves couldn't get past the Nuggets this time.
Outscored 9-4 down the stretch, the Wolves lost 93-91 to the Nuggets, who got 26 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists from reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and some clutch defense from Will Barton and Jokic as time expired.
"It's tough,'' said Malik Beasley, who led the Wolves with 18 points off the bench. He hit six of 10 three-pointers, starting to see his shot fall after struggling early this season.
"We were up 14,'' Beasley said of the Wolves' second-quarter lead. "We had a few turnovers at the end. We went away from the things that got us that lead.''
Jokic hit two free throws with 1:25 left to put Denver up 93-89. With 31.1 seconds left. Anthony Edwards scored to draw the Wolves (3-2) within two. At the other end Karl-Anthony Towns forced a Jokic turnover. But the Wolves couldn't convert. Barton blocked a layup attempt by Beasley. Edwards got the rebound, but his attempt was contested by Jokic and failed to fall as the horn sounded.
"I thought we would get something in transition,'' Finch said of the final sequence. "Certainly on the last possession. But we got a couple good looks, just never felt like it was going to go in. Maybe could've called a timeout and get something a little more organized.''
In a game in which both teams at times struggled to make a shot, the Wolves started strong, building a 14-point lead early in the second quarter.
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But, as Finch noted, the team went away from the early ball movement. The ball got, in his words, "sticky.'' The team went away from Towns, who scored nine minutes in the first quarter, just five the rest of the way, finishing with just 11 shots, something Finch vowed would change.
But, bottom line, the Wolves just couldn't keep the Nuggets at bay. Certainly not Jokic, who scored all 26 of his points in the final three quarters. Monte Morris scored 16 for Denver, Aaron Gordon 12.
The Wolves got 18 from the suddenly hot Beasley off the bench. Beasley led a Wolves bench that outscored Nuggets reserves 41-22, a group of reserves that kept giving the Wolves opportunities.
Towns, Edwards and D'Angelo Russell all scored 14 points.
The Wolves led by 14 early in the second quarter and were still up 13 before Denver ended the half on an 11-2 run.
The Wolves still led by four after three quarters and pushed their lead to seven early in the fourth.
But the Nuggets (4-2) were relentless, aided by 20 Wolves turnovers that Denver turned into 22 points.
Russell scored with 3:53 left to put the Wolves up two, their last lead of the game. Morris immediately followed with a layup. With 2:04 left Morris scored again, putting the Nuggets up two. After Beasley missed a 13-footer, Towns fouled Jokic, who made both free throws.
The crowd of 17,136 groaned as Edwards' final attempt failed to fall.
The Wolves fell apart in the fourth quarter and have not won in Toronto in two decades.
