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Timberwolves win in Denver behind Wiggins' 31

Jan 18, 2015 - 6:11 AM Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Andrew Wiggins continued his recent tear and led the Timberwolves to another victory, as Minnesota downed the Denver Nuggets 113-105 at Pepsi Center on Saturday.

Wiggins poured in a career-high 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting and added nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks in Minnesota's second win in the past three games. Last year's No. 1 overall pick has averaged 21.4 points over his last 13 games.

"Part of his success has been that he's learned how to prepare for games," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said of Wiggins.

Thaddeus Young chipped in with 22 points and Robbie Hummel added 15 with 13 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who shot 53.8 percent from the field and 19- of-21 from the foul line.

Ty Lawson paced the Nuggets with 22 points, while J.J. Hickson recorded a double-double off the bench with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

"That's a bad loss, not because we're playing a bad team, but in light of our schedule we have coming up," Denver coach Brian Shaw said.

Both teams were coming off losses on Friday but only the Nuggets lost their legs late in this one.

The Timberwolves appeared to pull away when Wiggins' three-point play capped a 9-2 run to give them a 103-95 lead with four minutes remaining.

Wilson Chandler hit a 3-pointer while being fouled, and Kenneth Faried tipped in Chandler's missed free throw to pull the Nuggets within 108-105 with 1:41 on the clock.

Mo Williams, though, hit a contested baseline jumper at the other end, and Faried's goaltending violation the next time down spoiled the Nuggets' comeback bid.

Wiggins did not miss in the first 10-plus minutes, going 6-for-6 from the floor and making all three of his 3-point tries for a quick 15 points. The only shot he missed in the opening quarter came just before the buzzer, and Anthony Bennett slammed home the rebound to give Minnesota a 37-25 lead.

The margin grew to 14 but was erased before the half even ended. A 15-2 Nuggets run put them in front 55-50, and they held a 59-56 edge at halftime.

It was Minnesota's turn to make a late run in the third, which ended with the visitors clinging to an 85-83 lead.

Game Notes

Minnesota improved to 2-7 on the second game of a back-to-back ... The Timberwolves had dropped 15 straight before winning two of their last three ... Williams totaled 13 points and seven assists.