NBA Game Summary - Denver at Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN (Basketball News) - Andre Miller scored 22 points and handed out a season-high 15 assists to lead red-hot Denver to a 107-104 win over Minnesota at the Target Center.

Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points and Kenyon Martin ended with 24 for the Nuggets, who have won six straight and 12 of their last 13 games.

The win kept Denver in seventh place in the Western Conference playoff hunt, one game ahead of Memphis, which also won on Friday. The Nuggets, though, did move within one-half game of idle Houston for the sixth spot in the West.

"Games like these are really important for us," said Denver head coach George Karl. "Every game like this helps give us the focus we will need in the playoffs."

Sam Cassell poured in a game-high 27 points and Kevin Garnett had 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists for the Timberwolves, who lost for only the second time in their last nine contests and were dealt a crushing blow to their already slim playoff hopes.

Minnesota fell 3 1/2 games behind the Grizzlies for the final playoff spot.

"This was a huge setback. It’s like waiting on a right hook and getting hit with a body blow. And we got nobody to blame but ourselves," said Garnett."

Trailing by eight points after three quarters, the Timberwolves fought back and eventually tied the score at 89 apiece on Fred Hoiberg’s basket with just under six minutes left.

The game stayed tight throughout the period and Marcus Camby’s basket with slightly under two minutes left in the game made it 103-98 in favor of Denver, but Latrell Sprewell’s three-pointer at the other end quickly cut the deficit to two points.

However, the Nuggets countered with four straight points, capped by Miller’s jumper, to make it 107-101 in the waning seconds.

The Timberwolves closed within three as they capitalized on Garnett’s three- point play, and then got the ball back with 10 seconds left after Miller missed a three with the shot clock winding down.

Cassell’s last-second three-point try was off the mark, though, and Anthony grabbed the rebound to seal the win.

Minnesota led 27-25 after one quarter, but trailed 54-51 after a highly- competitive first half.

The Nuggets then opened the third period with a 7-2 spurt, capped by Martin’s slam dunk, to widen their edge to 61-53.

The Timberwolves did pull within six points later in the period, but Denver increased its cushion to 77-65 on Martin’s hoop with just under two minutes left in the quarter. The lead was 81-73 after three periods.