MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 23 of his 43 points in the third quarter and Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-114 on Monday night.
The Timberwolves played without star Anthony Edwards.Who will be absent for at least a week due to a strain in the right hamstringAfter being injured in Sunday’s game against Indiana. Reserve goalie Jaylen Clark also missed the game due to tightness in his left calf.
Jokic scored 25 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and had 10 assists to complete his third hat-trick in three games this season. He now has 167 career triple-doubles, which is third on the NBA’s all-time list.
Murray hit 16 of 29 shots and made five three-pointers for the Nuggets, who outscored the Timberwolves 45-29 in the third quarter to overcome an eight-point deficit at halftime.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points and Peyton Watson added 12 points for Denver.
Jaden McDaniels led Minnesota with 25 points, while Julius Randle scored 24 points and Naz Reid 18 points.
Minnesota led 65-57 at halftime, but Murray opened the third quarter with five quick points on a 3-pointer and a 3-pointer. His third of the quarter put Denver ahead 79-78. Hardaway hit a pair of 3s late in the quarter to extend Denver’s lead to 102-94 after three quarters.
The Timberwolves cut the deficit to 104-101 but Watson answered with eight points in a 10-0 run including back-to-back corner 3s to restore the Nuggets’ cushion.
The Nuggets lost all four of their regular season games to Minnesota last year, but they clearly benefited from the absence of Edwards, who averaged 31.5 points per game against Denver last season.
the next
Denver hosts New Orleans, and the Timberwolves host the Lakers on Wednesday.
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