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Friday, Nov. 26 9:00pm ET
Garnett sprains ankle in T-Wolves' loss | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- Ron Mercer didn't expect the Nuggets to come together so quickly when Denver acquired him in an offseason trade with the Boston Celtics. But so far he has been pleasantly surprised as Denver has put together its first four-game winning streak in nearly five years with Friday's 114-105 victory over Minnesota. "I figured with a young team combined with a large roster turnover it would take at least 20 games to come together," said Mercer, who led Denver with 27 points on Friday. "The transition has taken so well that I don't have to carry the team every night, no one player does. There is no pressure on me and I only have to make the contribution I need to make." Nick Van Exel added 21 points and 10 assists and Raef LaFrentz had 19 points and a career-high 20 rebounds for the Nuggets, who last won four in a row from Dec. 4-11, 1995 and find themselves above .500 later than in any season since 1994-95 when they started 18-17. "The starting five was terrific," Denver coach Dan Issel said. "LaFrentz had back-to-back outstanding rebounds and (George) McCloud was unbelievable." Joe Smith had a season-high 18 points for Minnesota who played most of the second half without leading scorer Kevin Garnett. Garnett suffered a sprained left ankle with 8:36 left in the third quarter and never returned. "Without Garnett, we couldn't make the big play when we needed one," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders. "We can't go into the fourth quarter and rely on (Wally) Szczerbiak and (Radoslav) Nesterovic to carry us." Denver took a 77-75 lead into the fourth quarter and increased it to 83-77 in the first two minutes on two 3-pointers by McCloud, who had 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. Malik Sealy scored seven straight points and former Nugget Bobby Jackson hit a jump shot from the baseline to give the Timberwolves an 86-83 lead.McCloud's 3-point play and a layup by Van Exel with 7:12 left gave Denver 90-89 lead. The lead changed hands five times over the next minute with Antonio McDyess giving the Nuggets a 94-93 before McCloud gave Denver a 99-93 cushion with a 3-pointer with 5:01 left. "That is why I was brought here, to make shots," said McCloud, another offseason acquisition. "The shots were there for me to take, I took them and made them." McCloud sealed the victory with a 3-pointer with 1:01 that put Denver up 109-100."We know how important Kevin is to this team," Smith said. "At the same time we have to finish the game on a strong note regardless who we have on the floor." Trailing 57-48 at halftime, Minnesota outscored the Nuggets 21-10 over the first nine minutes of the second half with Anthony Peeler and Szczerbiak accounting for five points each to lead 69-67. Garnett, who suffered through a 4-for-24 game the night before, hit his first shot of the game, but the Timberwolves trailed by as many as five points in the first quarter. Radoslav Nesterovic's dunk finished a 10-0 run late in the quarter giving Minnesota a 28-24 lead. Game notesDean Garrett was held scoreless for the third straight game. ... Denver won 4 of 5 games on its longest homestand of the year. ... Garnett has 139 consecutive double-figure games. ... LaFrentz has 38 rebounds in his last two games. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Minnesota Clubhouse Denver Clubhouse RECAPS Milwaukee 114 Boston 112
Denver 114
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