Jamal Murray scored 43 points on 16-for-29 shooting and the Denver Nuggets finished strong for a 127-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night in Minneapolis.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic notched his third triple-double in as many games to start the season with 25 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. poured in 20 points off the bench.
Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting to lead Minnesota. Julius Randle scored 24 points and Naz Reid finished with 18 points off the bench.
Denver shot 52.3% (46 of 88) overall and 50% (13 of 26) from 3-point range. Minnesota shot 47.1% (40 of 85) from the field and 31.3% (10 of 32) from deep.
The Nuggets outscored the Timberwolves 70-49 in the second half to seize command.
Murray set the tone for a dominant second half when he knocked down a stepback jump shot on the first possession after halftime. He buried a 3-pointer on the next possession for the Nuggets, who outscored Minnesota 45-29 in the third to grab a 102-94 lead.
The Timberwolves scored the first five points of the fourth to pull within 102-99. Terrence Shannon Jr. cut the deficit to three with a driving layup with 9:50 remaining.
Denver pulled away with a 10-0 run midway through the final quarter. Peyton Watson finished the run with back-to-back 3-pointers to increase the Nuggets’ lead to 114-101 with 6:59 to go.
Jokic secured his triple-double with an assist on a dunk by Watson with 1:38 remaining. The play allowed him to join Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook as the only three players to start a season with three consecutive triple-doubles.
Nuggets guard Cam Johnson departed the game early because of soreness in his right shoulder. He finished with five points in 19 minutes.
The Timberwolves played without top scorer Anthony Edwards, who sat out after leaving Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers because of right hamstring tightness. Edwards is expected to be sidelined for two weeks.
