The Nuggets took care of business against the T-Wolves tonight in a 93-91 win on the road. Jokic played phenomenally and was the leading scorer with 26 points. He finished 3 assists shy of a triple double as well. Bones Hyland also made his longest appearance in a Nuggets uniform logging 18 minutes. The highlight of the game was without a doubt the Will Barton game-saving block.
A good sight for Nuggets fans is that Nikola Jokic was playing aggressively and didn’t look to be bothered by his knee at all. Malone closed the first quarter off with the bench unit featuring Will Barton again and it didn’t work, the T-Wolves go on a 9-2 run to end the quarter. 23-32 Timberwolves after 1.
Nuggets go down early in the game and it’s entirely from not being able to score. The bench unit featuring no starters made an appearance and what do you think happened? Yep, it was bad… again. In an attempt to fix things and give the team some energy Coach Malone put Bones in. He doesn't do much but Jokic scores 10 points in the quarter and leads the Nuggets on a 14-4 run to close the half. 43-47 in favor of the Timberwolves at halftime.
Something that Nuggets fans have been calling for finally happened: Bones was implemented. He played alongside the bench and starters, finishing with a career-high 8 points with 2 three’s. This should be the point where Bones becomes a regular in the rotation, he was playing good defense when he was in too. Bones also was part of the 4th quarter rotation with the starters that ultimately lead to a comeback win.
Michael Porter Jr. might not have had a good shooting game but he made some good passes and he rebounded well, finishing with 12 rebounds. Jokic gave the T-Wolves life by turning it over twice in the last minute but Will Barton saves the game by blocking Malik Beasley from behind. Anthony Edwards missed the game-tying layup over Jokic after the block. What a crazy ending to a crazy game. Nuggets Vs. Timberwolves might not be the first rivalry you think of but it’s becoming a great one.
P.S. We miss you Vando.
