MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Arron Afflalo scored 34 points and the Denver Nuggets handed the Minnesota Timberwolves their 12th consecutive loss with a 110-101 victory on Monday night.
J.J. Hickson had 16 points and 11 rebounds and the Nuggets shot 55 percent to cruise past the Timberwolves (5-28), by far the worst team in the Western Conference. Jusuf Nurkic scored 14 points and Ty Lawson added 12 assists for the Nuggets, whose reserves outscored Minnesota’s 47-10.
Gorgui Dieng tied a career high with 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Shabazz Muhammad added 19 points and six boards for Minnesota. The Timberwolves shot just 43 percent and have not won since Dec. 10 while playing without Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin.
Coach Brian Shaw recently switched up the team’s game-day schedule, eliminating the time-honored morning shootaround in favor of a light workout later in the afternoon. Shaw believes starting later in the day gives his players more continuous sleep and has them operating when their bodies are used to exerting their most effort.
The approach was successful on Saturday when the Nuggets thumped the Grizzlies 114-85 and Shaw said before the game on Monday the plan was to employ it the rest of the season to get a large sample size and make a determination going forward about the long-term future.
The Nuggets looked energetic and well-rested again Monday night, though playing against the woeful Timberwolves might have had something to do with it. They outscored the Wolves 19-10 in transition and 56-38 in the paint.
The Wolves were missing coach Flip Saunders, who stayed at home with an illness. Assistant Sam Mitchell filled in, but the results were still the same.
The Timberwolves tried to change things up by putting veteran Mo Williams in the starting lineup at point guard and moving rookie Zach LaVine to the bench. But it was just more of the same for a struggling group that can’t defend, can’t hit a 3-point shot consistently and can’t stay healthy.
The Wolves allowed the Nuggets to shoot 61 percent in the first half. They turned the ball over eight times and were outscored 13-3 in transition and trailed by 24 points midway through the second quarter.
The veteran Afflalo took it to No. 1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins, making him work for his 20 points on 8-for-18 shooting while Afflalo was 11-for-18 – including hit 4 of 6 on 3-pointers.
