What happens if you remove the Minnesota Timberwolves’ whole frontcourt?

The Nuggets were rendered ineffective for the majority of the second half until waking up for the final seven minutes in a 115-112 victory over the stunningly short-handed Timberwolves.

There was no Karl Anthony Towns. No Rudy Gobert. No, Naz Reid. It doesn’t matter. Anthony Edwards paced Minnesota with 30 points, and the Timberwolves overcame an 18-point hole with strong defense while Denver struggled for the entire third quarter and the first five minutes of the fourth. The starters then checked back in, built an eight-point lead with two minutes left, and held off an incredible 3-point barrage by Minnesota.

At the buzzer, Edwards front-rimmed an open three. Michael Porter Jr. scored two free throws with 7.6 seconds left to double the lead.

With the victory, the Nuggets (48-21) recovered a one-game lead over Minnesota and returned to a first-place tie with Oklahoma City in the Western Conference. Denver and Minnesota will face each other twice more during the regular season. The Nuggets must win both games to secure the two-way tiebreaker.

Nikola Jokic, who hasn’t gone a game without an assist since January 2, 2020, had to wait until 6:50 in the fourth quarter to get his first of the night. It happened at the Nuggets’ lowest point when they trailed 93-89 after scoring five second-half points in 17 minutes. More importantly, it marked a turning point. The assist set up a Porter 3-pointer, sparking a 10-0 run that included seven straight Porter points. On the following possession, Jokic discovered a cutting MPJ for a dunk.

Porter scored 13 of his 26 points in the final 7 minutes. Jokic finished with 35 points, 16 rebounds, and just two assists. He scored 22 points in the first half, after Kyle Anderson, who was playing small-ball five, was called for three fouls in the opening three minutes. Two-way player Luka Garza was forced to guard Jokic alongside Minnesota’s stars as the two-time MVP went on the attack. Jokic and Aaron Gordon dominated the Timberwolves on the glass in the first quarter.

Zeke Nnaji, a Minnesota native, was out with lower back problems, so Michael Malone decided to simulate the playoffs by playing Gordon as backup five. During his pregame news conference, the Nuggets’ ninth-year coach hinted that he “could go really small depending on who’s available for (Minnesota),” implying that DeAndre Jordan could have played if Gobert had. Instead, Gordon had eight points and eight rebounds in the first few minutes alongside Jokic, but just six and three the rest of the way. He turned the ball over four times.

Jokic, meanwhile, disappeared from Denver’s offensive at the start of the third quarter. He didn’t take a shot until 5:26 into the half, during which the Timberwolves went on a 15-3 run. They double-teamed his post touches with more conviction.