Daily Times

Nikola Jokic scored 35 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets held on for a 115-112 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.

Michael Porter Jr. added 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting for the Nuggets (48-21), who bounced back from a buzzer-beater loss against the Dallas Mavericks two days earlier. Denver’s Jamal Murray (18 points, 11 assists) and Aaron Gordon (14 points, 11 rebounds) each registered double-doubles.

Anthony Edwards finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to lead Minnesota (47-22). Jaden McDaniels scored 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and Mike Conley chipped in 13 points to go along with six boards and five assists.

The result leaves Denver in a virtual tie with the Oklahoma City Thunder (47-20) for first place in the Western Conference, with Minnesota one game back.

Minnesota pulled within two points with 12 seconds remaining when Conley hit a 3-pointer.

Porter made two free throws to push Denver’s lead to 113-109 with 7.6 seconds left.

McDaniels sank a 3-pointer to make it 113-112 with 5.6 seconds to go, and Murray followed by making two free throws. Edwards couldn’t connect on a last-second 3-point attempt to force overtime.

The Nuggets held onto an 87-84 lead entering the fourth quarter. Minnesota outscored Denver 29-17 in the third quarter to set up a back-and-forth finish. The Timberwolves trailed by 15 points at halftime but opened the second half on a 17-5 run to slice the deficit to 75-72.