Anthony Edwards scored 24 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and eight rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 110-89 win over the visiting Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
Mike Conley contributed 17 points and a team-high six assists for Minnesota, which never trailed in the game. Naz Reid had 16 points in 19 minutes off the Minnesota bench.
The reigning NBA champion Nuggets sustained their first loss after winning their first four games of the season. Nikola Jokic finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Jamal Murray contributed 14 points, six assists and six rebounds.
Denver, after trailing by 19 points at halftime, started strong following the break but could not erase the deficit.
The Nuggets pulled within 72-59 when Murray drained a 3-pointer off an assist from Jokic with 7:11 left in the third quarter. However, the Timberwolves responded with a 15-8 run to go back ahead by 20.
By midway through the fourth quarter, Nuggets coach Michael Malone opted to rest Jokic and Murray as his team fell behind by 23. Reserves such as Hunter Tyson and Julian Strawther saw action in the final minutes.
Stingy defense led by Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels helped to keep the Nuggets from making a significant run. Gobert finished with two blocks and a steal, McDaniels recorded a pair of blocks, and Edwards and Towns had two steals apiece.
The Timberwolves built a 63-44 lead entering halftime.
Minnesota quickly set the tone as it jumped to an 18-4 lead. A 3-pointer by Mike Conley made it 9-0, and Edwards hit a 20-foot pullup jump shot followed by a 26-foot 3-pointer to finish the early scoring binge.
Denver closed the gap to 28-21 by the end of the first quarter.
After Murray missed a layup, Zeke Nnaji grabbed the offensive rebound and made a putback dunk to cut the deficit to 37-32 with 7:51 remaining in the first half.
Minnesota took control from there, going on an 11-0 run to grab a 48-32 lead with 5:38 left in the second. Towns finished the run with a three-point play that included a floating jumper and a free throw.
A dunk by Edwards with 0.1 seconds to go padded the Timberwolves' advantage entering the break.
—Field Level Media