Nuggets Hold on to Handle Wolves, Snap Losing Streak
Dec 30, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Will Barton (5) reacts after making a basket against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
The streak is dead.
The Denver Nuggets finally got back in the win column as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday night 78-74. The victory sees Denver take three wins of the four total matchups versus Minnesota this season and had a struggling player come up big late.
With the Nuggets leading by just two points with 5.6 seconds left in the game Will Barton, celebrating his 25th birthday, stepped to the free-throw line.
Barton was having an off night with just five points, but was shooting 83% from the free-throw line for the season.
However, the birthday boy did not disappoint as he swished both shots and the Nuggets’ defense held leading to the victory. This win was huge as it looked for much of it like the Nuggets were heading to their seventh straight loss.
The game looked out of reach early and throughout most of the third quarter. The Nuggets, now 13-23, could not seem to make a basket and fell down by 10 to the Timberwolves. No one seemed to score consistently and easy baskets weren’t falling; the Nuggets needed a spark.
Enter center Jusuf Nurkić.
The talented second-year player, recently returning from his torn ACL last season, came off the bench for the Nuggets and continued to provide baskets and boards for the team. The Bosnian ended with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes.
Nurkić was key as the Nuggets went on 12-2 run late in the third quarter and ending the quarter leading by one.
The Nuggets shot poor most of the night ending at 35.8% from the field with too many missed shots showing up late in the game. Neither team scored from the 4:06 mark in the fourth quarter on until Barton made his free throws.
While the Nuggets did struggle on offense, their defensive play was a positive to take away.
Two Arthur and Nurkić blocks were key in keeping the lead for the eventual win. Another positive is the Nuggets won without Emmanuel Mudiay, who got another game off to rest his ankle.
An important note is Denver’s win also ended another bad streak for the team. The win brought Denver their first victory scoring under 100 points since January 25th, 2015 nearly a year ago.
Ending these streaks hopefully will help the Nuggets going forward as they play in Memphis on Friday night and find themselves just four games out of eighth place in the West.