MINNESOTA – The Denver Nuggets knew that Anthony Edwards was the Minnesota Timberwolves’ danger man, so with extra bodies they stopped him from scoring, and that was how they won.
Denver coach Michael Malone was pleased that his fourth-quarter tactical tweak to stymie Edwards worked, as Nikola Jokic scored 35 points to record a 115-112 National Basketball Association (NBA) road victory over their Western Conference rivals on March 19.
Serbian star Jokic shepherded his team over the line after Minnesota erased an 18-point second-quarter deficit to seriously rattle the reigning NBA champions.
The Timberwolves came roaring back into the game after a third-quarter shooting spree that saw them outscore Denver 29-17 thanks to 14 points from Edwards, who finished with 30 on the night.
But defensive adjustments from the Nuggets slowed his scoring rate in the fourth quarter and they held on.
“We threw an extra body at him,” Malone said of Edwards, who is averaging 26.7 points per game this season.
“One guy trying to guard Anthony Edwards is a challenge for anyone in the NBA so we started throwing bodies at him to get the ball out of his hands.”
On his side’s victory, he added: “I always take a division win. And to finish up the road trip 3-1 is outstanding.”
Minnesota, missing the injured Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, had a last-gasp attempt to force overtime only for Edwards’ three-point attempt to bounce off the rim.
Denver move into second place in the West with a 48-21 record.
Oklahoma City Thunder lead the West standings at 47-20 while Minnesota remain firmly in the hunt in third at 47-22.
Elsewhere, Kyrie Irving finished with 28 points while Luka Doncic bagged his 18th triple-double of the season as the Dallas Mavericks overpowered the San Antonio Spurs 113-107 in a Texas derby.
Dallas improved to 40-29 to leave them in seventh place in the West, just outside the automatic play-off places heading into the final month of the regular season.
Doncic finished with 18 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds to help drive Dallas to a second straight victory.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd admitted his team had been forced to grind out the win.
“It does count as a W. Not all wins are pretty,” he said. “We relied on our defence to help us get this win.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said his team – who are propping up the West with a 15-54 record – paid the price for making too many turnovers.
“We outrebounded them, we shot better than they did, we outscored them in the third quarter and the fourth quarter, and we had basically the same number of assists,” he said.
“But we had 16 turnovers, and that’s the difference of the game.”
In other games, the New Orleans Pelicans continued their recent good run of form with a third straight win, beating the Brooklyn Nets 104-91 on the road in New York.
After two lead changes in the first quarter, the Pelicans dominated, stretching their advantage to 24 points just before half-time and maintaining a healthy double-digit advantage for the remainder of the game.
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson led the romp with 28 points, seven rebounds and four assists on a night when six New Orleans players finished in double figures.
“I thought first half we really set the tone, second half got a little sloppy, but overall a really good effort on the part of our guys,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said.
He was also satisfied that so many of his players made significant scoring contributions, adding: “It’s important that any of our guys that touch the floor compete, rebound, share the ball.
“Overall solid effort, we’ll take it.”
The Orlando Magic extended their winning streak to four games with a 112-92 triumph over the Charlotte Hornets.
The Houston Rockets trounced the Washington Wizards 137-114 on the road thanks to a 42-point display from Jalen Green, with Amen Thompson adding 25. AFP
