Minneapolis, MN - The Denver Nuggets, fresh off an offensive explosion against the Houston Rockets, will take their five-game win streak up North for a meeting with the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight. The Nuggets snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Rockets last night, a 136-122 win at home behind a career-high 35 points from Malik Beasley and a near triple-double from All-Star Nikola Jokić.
With last night’s win the Nuggets are once again in first place in the Western Conference. The Nuggets are currently 36-15 on the season and 8-2 in their last 10 games. Denver has found success on the road this season as well, going 13-11 away from Pepsi Center this season.
The Timberwolves are 25-26 and on the outside of the playoff picture. Minnesota went through a coaching change in early January, replacing Tom Thibodeau with Ryan Saunders on January 6. Minnesota has gone 6-5 with Saunders at the helm. The Wolves are 17-9 at home this season.
This is the second time that the Nuggets and Wolves have met this season. The first game was a 103-101 thrilling road victory for Denver behind 25 points and 5 steals from Paul Millsap.
Here is what to watch for tonight:
All-Star centers: Nikola Jokić and Karl-Anthony Towns are two of the league’s best centers and are the focal point of their teams’ offense. Jokić is averaging 20.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists on the season while Towns is putting up 22.6 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists. In the first game between these teams, Towns had 22 points, seven rebounds and two assists while Jokić had seven points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Encore Performance: The Nuggets got career-high performances from Malik Beasley and Torrey Craig against Houston. With Gary Harris and Jamal Murray out again tonight there will be plenty of minutes for Beasley and Craig to continue their high-level play. Beasley is averaging 17.6 points on 60% from the floor and 53% from three in eight games as a starter this season.
Staying hot: The Nuggets shot 62.2% from the floor against Houston last night, while also shooting 45.2% from three and 87% from the free throw line. Denver’s 136 points was their second most on the season and the Nuggets are 12-0 this season when scoring over 120 points. Denver has won 37 straight games when shooting over 50% from the floor.
Tonight’s game will tip at 7 pm MT and will air on Altitude TV and the AltitudeNOW app. Fans can listen on Altitude Radio, 92.5 FM.