|
 Denver's bench provided the much-needed spark.
Backup guard Randy Foye had a season-high 19 points off the bench
while forward Kenneth Faried had 19 points, 10 rebounds and three
blocks as Denver took down Minnesota 112-100 Tuesday at Target
Center.
The Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets by six in Denver on Monday.
Foye's production was part of a big night for the Nuggets' reserves,
which scored 53 points.
"I loved our bench in that first half," Denver coach Michael Malone
said. "They gave us great energy."
Six Nuggets scored in double figures, including forward Danilo
Gallinari (15 points) and guard Will Barton (14).
The Nuggets came into Tuesday's game shooting just 42.8 percent from
the floor, 25th in the league. But against the Timberwolves, Denver
shot 56.2 percent overall, including 55.6 percent from 3-point
range.
With Denver guard Emmauel Mudiay sidelined due to an ankle injury,
it meant more minutes for Foye and veteran Jameer Nelson. Foye, who
averaged just five points per game before Tuesday's performance,
made the most of his opportunity.
Seventeen of Foye's points came in the second quarter, of which he
played all 12 minutes.
"That felt really good," Foye said. "I've been struggling. I'm just
continuing to work. My teammates continue to encourage me to shoot
the ball every time I touch it.
"It was a good team win. Everyone played well."
Second-year forward Andrew Wiggins led Minnesota with 23 points on
9-of-17 shooting. Guard Zach LaVine added 20 points and five assists
off the bench in the loss. Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points
despite taking just seven shots. He made all eight of his free
throws.
The Timberwolves forced 15 Denver turnovers but converted them into
just 10 points. The Nuggets cashed in on Minnesota's 10 turnovers
for 18 points.
Denver used a 12-0 run in the second quarter to build a 63-49
halftime lead. Foye, a member of the Timberwolves from 2006-2009,
tormented his old team during that stretch and throughout the first
half. Foye was perfect on five shots from beyond the arc in the
second quarter.
"He's an eight-year vet who's had a lot of good seasons behind him,"
Malone said. "We all knew as an organization that the Randy Foye
that's played in the first 20-some odd games isn't the Randy Foye
we've seen for eight years. We knew at some point he'd break out of
it."
[to top of second column] |
Minnesota cut Denver's lead to nine points with 4:59 remaining in
the fourth after a pair of free throws from guard Ricky Rubio, but
the Nuggets pulled away in the game's final minutes. Nelson hit a
trio of shots to extend Denver's lead as part of his 10-point night.
The Nuggets (11-14) won for the fifth time in six games after
enduring an eight-game losing streak.
Minnesota (9-15) was coming off an overtime loss in Phoenix on
Sunday. The Timberwolves fell for the sixth time in seven games, and
they have surrendered an average of 109.6 points per game over that
period.
"We're going to make some adjustments and tweak the lineup a little
bit," Timberwolves head coach Sam Mitchell said. "We're not the
highest-scoring team anyway, so we just may have to err on the side
of caution of trying to defend people and keep the game as tight as
possible and try to win it at the end."
NOTES: Denver G Emmanuel Mudiay did not play in Tuesday's game
because of a right ankle sprain. Mudiay also missed Monday's win at
Houston. Coach Michael Malone said Mudiay is day-to-day and received
treatment before Tuesday's game. Denver hopes Mudiay might be able
to return Friday in Utah. ... Tuesday marked the third time this
season that the teams faced off. Minnesota won the first matchup on
Oct. 30 in Denver, while the Nuggets beat the Timberwolves in
overtime at the Pepsi Center on Dec. 11. ... Timberwolves rookie PG
Tyus Jones is averaging 21.3 points, 5.0 assists and 1.7 steals per
game in his first three games with the Idaho Stampede of the NBA
Development League. He was assigned to Idaho on Dec. 5. He didn't
play Tuesday.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
