Timberwolves-Nuggets Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jan 03 2013 2:29AM

By earning an impressive win despite the absence of their starting point guard, the Denver Nuggets continued to show why they're one of the best home teams in the NBA. A visit from the slumping Minnesota Timberwolves doesn't appear likely to change their status.

The Nuggets seek a ninth straight win at the Pepsi Center on Thursday night when they face the Timberwolves, who have dropped four in a row on the road.

While it's just 8-14 away from home, Denver has been superb on its own floor, going an NBA-best 10-1. The latest victory at the Pepsi Center was arguably its most noteworthy this season. The Nuggets ended the Los Angeles Clippers' 17-game win streak Tuesday with a stifling 92-78 victory.

Denver held the Clippers to 38.5 percent shooting and had six players in double figures even though Ty Lawson was out with tightness in his left Achilles' tendon.

"Everybody got a look at what we could do, how good this team is and how scary we are," forward Kenneth Faried told the team's website. "What better way to start the new year."

Andre Miller had 12 points and 12 assists in Lawson's place and Danilo Gallinari scored a team-best 17 points.

"We don't win this game without Andre," coach George Karl said. "He just got us easy baskets, got a lot of guys involved, gave our team a lot of confidence."

The Nuggets (18-15) would love to get Lawson back as he's averaging 20.0 points in his last nine games against the Timberwolves and had a team-best 24 in the most recent home matchup, a 113-107 win April 11.

However, the Nuggets might get by without him because Minnesota (14-14) heads into Denver having lost five of seven. The Timberwolves have also had little luck at the Pepsi Center, losing five straight and 10 of 11 there.

Minnesota is coming off one of its worst performances of 2012-13, shooting a season-low 34.5 percent and going 2 of 17 from 3-point range in a 106-84 drubbing in Utah on Wednesday. Kevin Love and Alexey Shved combined to shoot 7 of 24 (29.2 percent) and were the team's leading scorers with 13 points apiece.

"We need to take a rest right now and kind of get back on track," forward Andrei Kirilenko. "It's just one of those games where you can't make a shot five or six possessions in a row, you couldn't put it in on a layup, you couldn't get to the line. It's all together kind of like an avalanche."

Love had 34 points and 14 rebounds against Denver in his return from a broken right hand Nov. 21 but Minnesota lost 101-94. He missed 14 of 17 shots and scored eight points in the most recent matchup Dec. 12, but the Timberwolves edged the Nuggets 108-105.

Nikola Pekovic had a team-best 22 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota, which beat Denver for only the third time in the last 23 meetings.

Gallinari had 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting in the last matchup, and is averaging 20.0 points and shooting 64.5 percent in his last three games in the series.

Barea leads T-Wolves to 101-97 win over Nuggets

By PAT GRAHAM
Posted Jan 04 2013 1:01AM

DENVER (AP) Not even a sprained finger to their All-Star forward could spoil this win for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

And it definitely made up for the clunker they turned in the night before - as much as it can, anyway.

J.J. Barea scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter while Kevin Love sat on the bench with an injured finger, lifting Minnesota to a 101-97 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.

The Timberwolves were playing for the second straight night, but fatigue hardly appeared to be a factor as they handed the Nuggets a rare home loss.

"Awesome," Barea said. "We came in ready today."

The Nuggets? Not so much.

Denver looked lethargic two days after snapping the Los Angeles Clippers' 17-game winning streak.

That bothered coach George Karl - a lot.

"We gave one away tonight," said Karl, whose team drops to 10-2 at home this season. "It wasn't our defense, it was our lackadaisical effort, our urgency, like this game doesn't mean as much as the Clippers game."

The contest went back and forth in the final quarter before Luke Ridnour gave the Timberwolves the lead for good on a 3-pointer with 2:43 remaining. Barea then followed with another 3 to cement the win.

"It was good to hit some shots. We've been struggling to hit shots as a team," Ridnour said. "To be able to get going like that feels good."

Especially with Love only able to watch after leaving with a sprained finger on his right hand in the third quarter. Love broke the same hand in October, missing the opening nine games of the season, and has struggled to get on track with his jumper ever since.

On the play in which he was injured, Love appeared to be sliding past a Nuggets player in the lane when he suddenly clutched at his hand before heading into the training room. Love had 12 points and 17 rebounds in nearly 24 minutes.

He later returned to the bench to support his teammates.

"He said he could have played, but he couldn't shoot," coach Rick Adelman said.

The Nuggets may have been more flustered by the loss of Love than the Timberwolves. The quickness of Ridnour and Barea gave Denver fits.

"I think Minnesota at times plays better without Love," Karl said. "They're kind of a machine-like offense. They give guys different opportunities. But they're pretty good."

No one more than Barea, who found his touch late in the game.

"I got on a good rhythm there and kept attacking," he said. "It worked out for us."

Did it ever and makes what happened in Utah all the more puzzling. The Timberwolves were blown out 106-84 in a rather uninspiring effort.

"You're going to have a couple of games a year like we did in Utah," Ridnour explained. "You just don't want to have too many of them. Fortunately, everybody bounced back today. We got a big win in a really tough place to play."

Despite the loss, it was a big night for the usually modest Andre Miller, who scored the 15,000th point of his career on a mid-range jumper in the first quarter. He became only the eighth player to reach that scoring plateau while also compiling 7,500 career assists. Oscar Robertson, Gary Payton, John Stockton, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash also accomplished the feat.

In typical Miller fashion, the 36-year-old downplayed the approaching milestone before the game.

"A big individual accomplishment ... I try not to dwell on it," said Miller, who finished with 11 points and 10 assists. "I never even thought about it. It's good to get it over with."

Miller started the game in place of Ty Lawson, who's still recovering from a strained left Achilles tendon. Lawson sat out Tuesday when the Nuggets beat the Clippers and has been bothered by tightness in the tendon for the past week.

The speedy point guard provided a spark off the bench against Minnesota - the first time in nearly two years that Lawson entered a game as a reserve. He and Kosta Koufos each finished with 16 points for Denver.

The Timberwolves were without point guard Ricky Rubio, who has been dealing with back spasms and remained in Minnesota during the two-game swing through Utah and Denver. The team is being cautious with Rubio, who is coming back from a torn ACL in his left knee. Minnesota hopes to have Rubio back Saturday against Portland.

NOTES: The Pepsi Center hasn't been kind to Love, who sustained a mild concussion and neck strain after a hit to the head in a game against Denver last April. ... The Timberwolves had six players score in double figures. Alexey Shved also had 17 points. ... Denver is 4-13 this season when allowing 100 or more points. ... Asked about the chances of the Denver Broncos making the Super Bowl, Karl said, "I like them."

Notebook: Timberwolves 101, Nuggets 97

Michael Kelly, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Jan 04, 2013 12:51 AM - Updated Fri Jan 04, 2013 12:51 AM

THE FACTS: No Ricky Rubio, no Kevin Love. It didn't matter for the Minnesota Timberwolves, thanks to J.J. Barea.

Barea came off the bench to score 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, rookie Alexey Shved also had 17 points and the Timberwolves overcame injuries and foul trouble to beat the Denver Nuggets 101-97 on Thursday night.

Ty Lawson returned from a one-game absence to score 16 points and Kosta Koufas had 16 as well for the Nuggets, who had their eight-game home winning streak snapped.

QUOTABLE: "One of those games you don't expect with everything going on. They're rested and we come in and win."
-- Minnesota coach Rick Adelman

THE STAT: Andre Miller's basket with 9:58 left in the first quarter gave him 15,000 points for his career. He is the eighth player in NBA history to have at least 15,000 points and 7,000 assists. He finished with 11 points and 10 assists for his 205th career double-double.

TURNING POINT: Tied at 91 in the fourth quarter, Luke Ridnour drained a 3-pointer from 27 feet away to put the Timberwolves up for good with 2:43 left. After a Denver miss, Barea hit another 3-pointer to make it a six-point game. They were the only 3-pointers Minnesota hit in the fourth quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "That was a thrown game. They came in off a back-to-back. This was a game we had to win. Needed to win. We just didn't take advantage of this game."
-- Andre Miller

HOT: Nuggets coach George Karl was heaping praise on Barea before the game and then the guard went out and backed up the words. He played the final 13 minutes and had all five of his assists in the fourth quarter, which meant he had a hand in 24 of the Timberwolves' 32 points in the period.

NOT: The Nuggets. They snapped the Clippers' 17-game winning streak Tuesday but let this one get away from them. They let a 10-point lead evaporate at the end of the third quarter and a six-point lead disappear in the fourth.

QUOTABLE III: "There's always four, five, six games a year where you embarrass yourself and tonight was one of those nights. The sense of urgency didn't come until the fourth quarter."
-- George Karl

INSIDE THE ARENA: Otis Day, made famous from his performance in the 1978 movie Animal House, performed at halftime.

GOOD MOVE: Adelman rode the hot play of Ridnour and Barea in the fourth quarter. The two guards wreaked havoc on Denver's defense, using ball screens to get open. They combined to go 9-for-11 from the field for 21 points.

BAD MOVE: Love suffered a sprained finger on his right hand with 4:23 left in the third quarter. It's the same hand he fractured Oct. 17, which caused him to miss the first nine games of the season. He didn't play after leaving for an X-ray and Adelman said he doesn't know if he'll play Saturday against Portland.

ROOKIE WATCH: Shved continues to impress. He notched his sixth straight game of double-digit points and helped keep the Timberwolves close with some big buckets in the third quarter.

NOTABLE: Rubio didn't make the trip with the team due to back spasms. He could play Saturday. ... Lawson came off the bench for the first time this season. He missed Tuesday's game with a strained left Achilles tendon. ... The Nuggets had 11 steals and 11 blocked shots. ... The Timberwolves are 3-12 in their last 15 games in Denver. ... The Nuggets are 4-13 when allowing 100 or more points.

UP NEXT: For the Timberwolves, Saturday vs. Portland, Tuesday vs. Atlanta, Wednesday @ Oklahoma City. For the Nuggets, Saturday vs. Utah, Sunday @ L.A. Lakers, Wednesday vs. Orlando.

• Timberwolves: Budinger, Roy
• Nuggets: Chandler, Miller

• Timberwolves: Love
• Nuggets: --

• Lead Changes: 14
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #30 John Goble, #50 Olandis Poole
• Attendance: 16921
• Duration: 2:07