National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Denver 106, Minnesota 102
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, December 26, 2014
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Officials: #72 J.T. Orr, #40 Leon Wood, #36 David Jones
Attendance: 14516

Nuggets 106, Timberwolves 102: Kenneth Faried delivered a season-high 26 points and a career-high 25 rebounds as Denver held off visiting Minnesota.

Faried went 11-of-15 from the floor and grabbed 12 of his boards off the offensive glass for the Nuggets, who earned their third straight home win. Wilson Chandler added 21 points and Ty Lawson collected 16 points and 11 assists for Denver.

Thaddeus Young scored 23 points and Andrew Wiggins scored 22 for the Timberwolves, who have dropped seven straight. Gorgui Dieng had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Shabazz Muhammad scored 14 points for Minnesota.

Muhammad’s dunk capped a 14-5 run beginning the fourth quarter and left the Timberwolves in front 88-84 with seven minutes remaining before the Nuggets recovered and grabbed a 94-91 lead. Young’s layup knotted it at 98 but Lawson hit a layup and found Timofey Mozgov for a dunk to give Denver a 102-99 edge, and Minnesota never got back in front.

The Nuggets took a 53-47 lead into the half behind 14 points and 14 rebounds from Faried and pushed the lead to 10 on Lawson’s jumper with 7:09 left in the third. The Timberwolves cut the deficit down to three-points before settling for a 79-74 gap heading into the fourth.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Nuggets F Darrell Arthur (leg strain) was active after a four-game absence but did not get into the game. … Mozgov added 14 rebounds as Denver built up a 62-44 advantage on the glass. … Faried was limited to 30 minutes due to foul trouble but still managed to post his second consecutive double-double.
Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Denver
Thaddeus Young 23 Scoring Kenneth Faried 26
Mo Williams 13 Assists Ty Lawson 11
Gorgui Dieng 12 Rebounds Kenneth Faried 25
Andrew Wiggins 5 Free Throws Made Arron Afflalo 5
Gorgui Dieng 2 Steals Wilson Chandler 1
Gorgui Dieng 5 Blocks Wilson Chandler 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Minnesota 102 39.8 3-15 17-24 29 44 9 5 8
Denver 106 41.1 3-19 25-32 18 62 6 1 18
Upcoming Games
  • Denver will play their next game at home against Toronto. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .389 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Golden State. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .227 after a loss.