Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets Box Score on Dec 20, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 20, 2017

DENVER -- Jimmy Butler had 25 points, including nine during a key stretch of the fourth quarter, and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 112-104 on Wednesday night.

Karl-Anthony Towns also scored 25 and grabbed 10 rebounds, Jamal Crawford had 20 points and seven assists, and Jeff Teague contributed 16 points and eight assists for Minnesota (19-13).

The Timberwolves overcame a 14-point deficit to win their second straight against a Northwest Division opponent.

Denver's Nikola Jokic returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench the previous two games. He finished with 22 points but also committed 10 turnovers, one more than the entire Minnesota team.

Jamal Murray led Denver with 30 points, and Mason Plumlee had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Denver's leading scorer, Gary Harris, was out due to a right elbow contusion after taking a hard fall in Oklahoma City on Monday night. The Nuggets (16-15) could have used Harris to bottle up Butler, who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to end Denver's eight-game home winning streak.

The Nuggets led by 14 late in the third quarter. but Minnesota went on a 19-4 run into the start of the fourth to take an 85-84 lead.

Murray hit a desperation 3-pointer to put the Nuggets up by four, but they couldn't stop Towns. He hit a 3-pointer, a hook shot, two layups and a dunk while scoring Minnesota's first 11 points in the fourth.

After Denver went up 93-91, Crawford and Butler hit 3-pointers to spark an 11-2 run that gave Minnesota a seven-point edge.

The Nuggets cut it to 102-100, but Butler hit four free throws, a 21-foot jumper and a layup to help close it out.

Denver led by 11 in the first quarter, but the Timberwolves rallied to take the lead in the second quarter. Will Barton's layup with 1.3 seconds left gave the Nuggets a 52-50 halftime lead.

NOTES: Denver Broncos LB Von Miller, the Super Bowl 50 MVP, was sitting courtside. ... Nuggets G Emmanuel Mudiay (sprained right ankle) was inactive for the second consecutive game. ... Minnesota F Nemanja Bjelica went through a workout on the court before the game. Bjelica has missed 14 games because of a sprained left foot. He last played Nov. 22. ... The Nuggets transferred G Monte Morris from Rio Grande of the G League to their roster. Morris, who is from Michigan, was with the Nugget when they played in Detroit last week. He didn't play Wednesday.