The Denver Nuggets have stopped scoreboard watching and suddenly started winning.
A novel concept http://www.vikingsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jalyn-holmes-jersey , with coach Michael Malone posting the standings on the board for basically the last time after a loss in Toronto. Since then, they’ve won four straight to make things interesting down the stretch.
Jamal Murray had 22 points to lead six Denver players in double figures, Nikola Jokic sealed the game with a late tip-in and the Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 100-96 on Thursday night in a pivotal matchup between teams vying for a playoff spot.
The victory moved Denver (44-35) into a tie, record-wise, with Minnesota for the eighth spot with three games remaining. Both are a half-game behind New Orleans.
”Prior to the winning streak, I think we were (looking at the standings) and putting too much pressure on ourselves,” Paul Millsap said. ”We’re just back to ourselves and playing basketball. On nights we’re not shooting well, we’re still playing and still having fun.”
Jokic finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while reserve Devin Harris added 20 points for the Nuggets. The playoff jockeying between these two teams could go down to the wire with Minnesota hosting Denver in the regular season finale Wednesday.
”We knew this was a big one coming in,” Denver’s Mason Plumlee said. ”But as big as this is James Daniels Color Rush Jersey , we have to forget about it.”
Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds before fouling out with 1:46 remaining.
Up 98-96 with 6.6 seconds left, Will Barton took a shot that bounced off the rim and in Jokic’s direction, and he batted it in with 4.3 seconds on the clock to wrap up the win. Jokic was an uncharacteristic 6 of 20 from the field.
”Joker couldn’t make a shot to save his life,” Murray joked. ”Comes in and gets a tip-in. That’s what he does. That’s who he is, man.”
Minnesota had a familiar face available and sitting on the bench in Jimmy Butler, but he didn’t get into the game. Butler has been out since suffering a right knee injury on Feb. 23 at Houston. The Wolves are 8-9 since Butler was sidelined.
”So just taking everything into consideration, we just thought it was best to wait another day,” Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said.
This game featured quite a showdown between two elite big men in Towns and Jokic. They pushed and shoved each other around before Towns fouled out with 1:46 remaining while trying to cover Murray on the perimeter.
”You want to be out there, you want to be helping the team,” Towns said. ”You just got to find ways to win regardless of the situation.”
No time for looking back James Paxton Seattle Mariners Jersey , though.
”We can’t take back what happened tonight,” Towns said. ”There’s no time to weep.”
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: G Jeff Teague (knee) was back after missing a game and scored 15 points. Derrick Rose (ankle) had four. … Towns earned his 65th double-double of the season.
Nuggets: G Gary Harris missed a 10th straight game with a strained right knee. ”Longer than I think anybody anticipated,” Malone said. ”Just not where it needs to be for him to come back.” … Jokic had nine assists.
OUCH
Towns momentarily stayed down early in the third after taking an elbow to the face from Millsap. Towns remained in the game.
Moments later, Murray took an accidental hand to the face from Towns while trying to grab a rebound. Murray hit the floor before slowly getting back up.
NOT BUYING IT
In his pregame chat, Malone said he didn’t buy that Butler would sit out despite being listed as doubtful.
”Believe that if you want,” Malone said. ”I got a bridge to sell you.”
Water under the bridge – Butler didn’t play.
HARRIS TO THE RESCUE
Denver caught fire late in the third behind the shooting of Harris, who had nine points to help the team close out the quarter on an 11-0 run.
”It was my night to make shots,” Harris said. ”It’s going to be somebody else’s the next night. Going into this playoff push, it’s got to be all hand’s on deck.”
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Travel to Los Angeles to play the Lakers on Friday.
Nuggets: Denver plays two of its final three games on the road, including Saturday in Los Angeles against the Clippers.
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Shutting down the Utah Jazz offense is proving easier said than done for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
For a second straight game http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jessie-bates-iii-jersey , a late second-quarter surge by Utah carried over into the second half and it allowed the Jazz to pull away for a 113-96 victory Monday night. The Jazz used a 20-3 run spanning the end of the second quarter and the start of the third to break open the game.
Utah takes a 3-1 series lead back to Oklahoma City. Game 5 in the best-of-seven playoff is Wednesday night.
Donovan Mitchell had 33 points and seven rebounds to lead the Jazz to their third straight win in the series. Joe Ingles added 20 points, hitting five 3-pointers.
Mitchell’s willingness to attack the rim put the Thunder on their heels throughout the second half.
”He’s done a good job of getting in there and finishing or dropping it off,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. ”It’s an important part of what we do. He’s our most dynamic offensive player.”
Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Ricky Rubio chipped in 13 points, eight assists and six boards. Derrick Favors also scored 13.
Paul George had 32 points and Russell Westbrook added 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Thunder, who shot 39 percent from the field.
”I thought we played downhill a lot more,” coach Billy Donovan said. ”I thought we were at the rim a lot more. From there, we probably missed some opportunities to move the ball. I thought our ball movement was sporadic and sometimes it was very good.”
The Thunder opened a 26-19 lead late in the first quarter when Carmelo Anthony capped a string of three straight Oklahoma City baskets with an alley-oop layup. They held onto the lead for much of the second quarter until Utah finally woke up on offense.
Starting with Gobert cutting to the rim for a dunk with 3:45 left in the second quarter, the Jazz scored on 11 straight possessions. Ingles fueled the surge by hitting three consecutive 3s to put Utah in front 58-52 before halftime.
”These guys are great at telling me to shoot it as much as possible within the flow of our team and our offense,” Ingles said.
The surge Ingles kept going finally culminated in another dunk by Gobert that punctuated the decisive 20-3 run that gave Utah a 67-52 lead.
”The whole year, one of the things that we’ve wanted to do collectively is try to generate open shots http://www.falconsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-justin-bethel-jersey ,” Snyder said. ”You’re not always going to make them, but you want to keep taking them. Eventually, you’re going to make some. We hit some timely ones in the second half.”
The Jazz led by as many as 21 in the third quarter. Utah went up 87-68 when Mitchell drained a jumper and then fed Ingles for a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.
Physical play and heated emotions characterized the game. Both teams picked up two technical fouls before halftime. Jae Crowder was ejected after a technical foul with 5:30 remaining in the fourth quarter.
”That’s just what you’re going to get with a playoff team,” George said. ”It’s playoff basketball. It’s going to get chippy. It’s going to get physical. We’re in it for the fight.”
TIP-INS
Thunder: Westbrook finished with his fourth consecutive double-double in the series. … Anthony went just 5 of 18 from the field. … Oklahoma City totaled one assist in the third quarter and finished with 10 for the game. … The Thunder shot 5 of 26 from 3-point range.
Jazz: Ingles is 10 of 21 from 3-point range over his last two games. … Utah forced 15 turnovers. … Royce O’ Neale finished with a career playoff-high nine rebounds. … Rubio is averaging eight assists per game in the series.
WESTBROOK VS. RUBIO
Westbrook publicly promised to shut down Rubio in Game 4 after the Jazz point guard notched a triple-double in Game 3. His aggressiveness ended up with Westbrook drawing four personal fouls in the first half. In the end, Rubio shot just 4 of 12 from the field, but he finished with two fewer assists (eight) than the Thunder tallied as a team.
Following the game, Westbrook did not want to discuss how he guarded Rubio.
”It wasn’t about me or him,” he said. ”Let’s get past that. We done with that.”
RECORD SETTER
Mitchell set a postseason rookie scoring record for the Jazz, passing Karl Malone, who had 31 points on April 20 http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-daryl-worley-jersey , 1986, against the Mavericks. Mitchell is the first rookie to have a 30-point playoff game since Brandon Jennings did it in 2010. Mitchell is just the third rookie in the last 50 years to score 110-plus points in his first four playoff games, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan.
”It’s definitely an honor to have a record like that,” Mitchell said. ”Definitely an honor. No doubt about that, but we have one more game, so I’m focused on that.”
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