It was a special night in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday as the Minnesota Timberwolves brought back their popular Prince-inspired jerseys and the new court to go along with it in a matchup against the Denver Nuggets.
It was a rough start for the Wolves who fell by ten points right at the start of the game, reminiscint of the first matchup between these two teams back in October. Even with Christian Braun and Cam Johnson out for the Nuggets, the Wolves were still not able to contain the Denver offense, leading to a 17-7 deficit.
The defensive struggle for Minnesota was contained to the first few minutes though as they were able to slow Denver down for the remainder of the first half. The Wolves specifically did a good job defensively on Nikola Jokić who only scored seven first-half points.
Once the defense started getting stops, the Wolves got back into the game. Naz Reid had his best half of the season with a team-high 17 points in the first half, bringing the Wolves from down double-digits, to up by as many as seven points in the second quarter.
The Wolves would head into the halftime break with a 60-55 advantage. To start the third quarter, Jokić matched his scoring output from the first half in just a few minutes, putting up seven points in rapid succession to give the Nuggets the lead back, putting the Wolves down by one heading into the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves were unable to capitalize in the minutes with Jokić on the bench to start the fourth quarter as Aaron Gordon hit multiple contested shots.After a Jonas Valančiūnas tip-in, the Wolves found themselves down by eight points with seven minutes left.
The missed opportunity of the non-Jokić minutes was too much for the Wolves to overcome as they were unable to string together enough made baskets to cut into the lead as the Timberwolves four-game winning streak was snapped 123-112.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – NOVEMBER 15: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets interacts with Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the third quarter at Target Center on November 15, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Nuggets defeated the Timberwolves 123-112. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) Getty Images
Key Takeaway: Off night from Ant
Coming into the game, the assumption would have been that Anthony Edwards was setup to have a monster game. Over the past couple of seasons he has thrived against the Nuggets and without Braun and Johnson, Denver doesn’t really have a good matchup for the Wolves superstar.
What actually happened was the exact opposite as Edwards finished with 24 points, but went 7-22 while missing all eight of his 3-point attempts. Ant was able to the free throw line 12 times while dishing out six assists, but was missing shots he normally makes the entire night.
Edwards spoke after the game about what went wrong for himself and the Wolves on offense in the game tonight.
“I don’t know. Nothing they did, I just gotta make my shots. Just that simple, yeah, I just missed a bunch of shots. Go to the gym tomorrow, hopefully make them.”
Ant’s poor night was not the only factor in the loss. The Wolves notably lost the minutes with Jokić on the bench by a total of eight points, Tim Hardaway Jr. torched their defense to the tune of 23 points, and the Nuggets as a team made nearly half their 3-pointers.
Ultimately though, the matchup with the Nuggets requires Edwards to be the main driving force of the offense for the Wolves to win. Edwards is the main advantage Minnesota has schematically against Denver and the Wolves needed him to hit more of his shots to beat a team as good as the Nuggets.
The poor outing from Ant can just be that. Even phenomenal players have off nights. It’s hard not to notice though that the Wolves are now 0-5 against teams that have a .500 record or better.
The Timberwolves continue their third game of a four-game homestand, taking on the struggling Dallas Mavericks. The last game between the two teams was in January of last season, just two weeks before Luka Dončić was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The game will tip off on Monday, November 17, at 7:00 PM CT on FanDuel Sports Network.