Wolves, with out Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, take goal at Nuggets

Minnesota beat the Detroit Pistons on Sunday evening in a recreation that escalated right into a near-brawl within the second quarter and now takes that angle into Denver to face the Nuggets on Tuesday evening.

The Timberwolves have gained two straight and path Golden State by a half-game for the sixth seed with seven video games remaining. The battle for seeding has contributed to a playoff environment on the finish of the common season, as Minnesota confirmed Sunday evening.

Issues received testy between the Timberwolves and Detroit when Minnesota took exception to a foul on Naz Reid. Donte DiVincenzo and Reid have been ejected, in addition to assistant coach Pablo Prigioni.

Reid and DiVincenzo have been suspended one recreation with out pay for his or her roles within the altercation, the NBA introduced on Tuesday afternoon. They’ll sit out in opposition to the Nuggets.

“I have been in sufficient basketball video games to form of really feel this coming,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch mentioned. “Two guys went at it and spilled over into the group, which is harmful… Simply saved escalating and escalating, largely from their aspect.”

Finch hopes his group can carry that edge into the ultimate matchup of the season in opposition to Denver. Minnesota has gained the primary three video games and, together with final 12 months’s playoffs, 5 in a row in opposition to the Nuggets.

The Timberwolves squeaked out a win at dwelling in November however have crushed Denver by 29 factors and 20 factors within the final two conferences, respectively. Anthony Edwards, who leads Minnesota at 27.2 factors a recreation, has averaged 30.7 factors within the three video games in opposition to the Nuggets.

Julius Randle, second on the Timberwolves at 18.8 factors, had 25 within the March 12 win at Denver, and Reid is averaging 14.4 factors a recreation this season.

The Nuggets maintain a slim lead over the Los Angeles Lakers for the third seed and have little margin for error. Moreover going for the very best seed, ending a five-game shedding streak to the group that eradicated them in final 12 months’s playoffs is motivation.

“I believe they’ve approached this recreation prefer it’s a rivalry, and I believe we have approached these video games prefer it’s simply one other recreation typically,” coach Michael Malone mentioned. “We simply received to play more durable, whether or not it is a rivalry or not. I do not care who you are taking part in. For those who’re taking part in St. Buzzies they usually beat you 5 occasions in a row, typically your satisfaction’s received to kick in.”

Denver has gained two in a row after dropping its first recreation of the five-game homestand that wraps up Wednesday evening. Jamal Murray, who’s second on the group in scoring at 21.6 factors a recreation, missed Friday evening’s blowout win over Utah with a good hamstring, however he practiced on Monday.

“We did not do quite a lot of stay, aggressive stuff, however Jamal was on the market for the whole lot of it,” Malone mentioned. “Hopefully that bodes properly for evening.”

Nikola Jokic leads the Nuggets in factors , rebounds and assists , averages that rank within the high three within the NBA in every class. Michael Porter Jr. is third on the group at 18.2 factors a recreation.

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