MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� D鈥橝ngelo Russell had 14 of his 18 points in the first quarter and added 10 assists, Anthony Edwards scored 20 and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 128-98 win Sunday night against the Denver Nuggets, who were missing two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and three other starters on the second night of a back-to-back.
Rudy Gobert had 16 points for Minnesota, which never trailed and opened a 20-point advantage in the second quarter on the way to a seventh win in 10 games.
鈥淲e were very business-like,鈥� Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. 鈥淭ook advantage of the opportunity that was there for us. I think we only had like three or four turnovers in the first half. That鈥檚 kind of been important to our focus. And I thought we made a lot of really good plays.鈥�
Jamal Murray (left knee injury management), Aaron Gordon (left ankle sprain) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (right ankle sprain), who didn鈥檛 travel after playing in the Nuggets鈥� 128-108 win at home against Atlanta the previous night.
Michael Porter Jr., the lone regular starter in the lineup, led Denver with 22 points. Christian Braun added 19 points for the Nuggets. Denver shot just 39.5% from the field and committed 14 turnovers in the first half, trailing by 25 at one point.
鈥淲ithout four starters, you have to almost play perfect to give yourself a chance,鈥� Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. 鈥淭urnovers fueled their break, 24 fast-break points. Just too many breakdowns on both ends of the floor for us to even have a chance to be competitive tonight.鈥�
Without Jokic and Murray, and choosing not to play Bones Hyland, Denver was without a primary ball-handler. Bruce Brown, a reserve swingman, was the de facto point guard. He finished with 16 points and seven assists.
The Nuggets finished with a season-high 21 turnovers leading to 32 points for Minnesota.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just playing free and easy but, obviously, a little bit too free and a little bit too easy, at times,鈥� Malone said.
Meanwhile, Minnesota did what it needed to do against a short-handed team, controlling play from the beginning.
The Timberwolves went on a 25-5 run from the end of the first quarter and start of the second, and never looked back.
鈥淚n games like these, you kind of play down to the competition,鈥� said Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels, who had 14 points. 鈥淪o, just made it seem like all their starters were out there and just playing with aggression.鈥�
QUICK TURNAROUND
Malone called the timing and travel of the back-to-back to Minnesota 鈥渞idiculous鈥� before the game, pointing out there were just 22 hours between tip-offs.
鈥淲hen I told our players that, a veteran like Jeff Green looked at me like I was crazy,鈥� Malone said before the game. 鈥淗e said, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 not allowed. That鈥檚 not legal.鈥� And, obviously, it is.鈥�
Malone said he 鈥渉opes鈥� that all four starters will return for the next game.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Hyland, who is rumored to potentially be on the move prior to Thursday鈥檚 trade deadline, didn鈥檛 play despite the lack of a primary ball handler. 鈥� Jokic had played four games in a row but did miss four games in January. 鈥� Braun, Brown, Vlatko Cancar and DeAndre Jordan were the fill-in starters.
Timberwolves: Backup point guard Jordan McLaughlin returned after missing 30 games with a left calf strain. 鈥� Starting forward Kyle Anderson left the game with a recurrence of back spasms. He didn鈥檛 play in the second half after playing less than five minutes in the previous game due to the injury. 鈥� for his part in Friday鈥檚 fight between Minnesota and the Orlando Magic. ... The Wolves had 72 points in the paint.
UP NEXT
The two teams play Tuesday in Denver.
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Brian Hall, The Associated Press
