The Denver Nuggets have suffered their first loss of the new NBA season. The reigning champions were helpless in their duel against the spirited Minnesota Timberwolves, who emerged victorious with a score of 110-89.
It was evident that things wouldn’t go smoothly for Mike Malone’s squad right from the start. Denver missed its first nine shots, and Minnesota took an early 9-0 lead. The home team never relinquished their advantage at any point in the game.
In the first quarter, Jokic was the only Nuggets player who was somewhat in form. He scored 13 points, but Minnesota went into the first break with a 28-21 lead.
The game was effectively decided in the middle of the second quarter. The Timberwolves went on an 11-0 run, turning a 48-37 lead into a 59-37 advantage, making it clear that Denver would have a difficult time recovering from this significant deficit.
They attempted a comeback in the third quarter, but the gap didn’t narrow. Minnesota entered the final 12 minutes with a 17-point lead. At that point, Denver’s starting lineup was on the bench and didn’t return to the court as the deficit reached a maximum of +23. Malone decided to rest the team for the upcoming matches.
Jokic played just under 30 minutes and, despite scoring 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, he also had three assists but six turnovers. The only other player to reach double digits besides him was Jamal Murray with 14 points, while reserve Zeke Nnaji contributed nine points.
Anthony Edwards with 24 points and Karl-Anthony Towns with 21 points led Minnesota, with strong performances from Mike Conley and Naz Reid, who scored 17 and 16 points, respectively. Rudy Gobert excelled defensively with 12 rebounds and two blocks.
Denver’s next game is scheduled for the night between Saturday and Sunday when they host the undefeated Dallas Mavericks.