Denver Nuggets needed every last one to hold off

Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Kenneth Faried racked up 26 points and a career-best 25 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets needed every last one to hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves by a 106-102 score. Faried, who finished 11-of-15 from the field, was one of three Nuggets to record a double-double as Denver halted a two-game skid. Ty Lawson compiled 16 points with 11 assists, while Timofey Mozgov pulled down 14 boards in addition to netting 11 points. Its one of the best games Ive seen him play, Lawson said of Faried. I feel like hes just playing his game. Instead of taking shots from the perimeter or midrange jumpers, hes either get(ting) a rebound and putting it back in or hes getting dump-offs. Hes playing like he was toward the end of last year. Wilson Chandler contributed 21 points to help the Nuggets send the Western Conference cellar-dwelling Timberwolves to a seventh consecutive defeat. Thaddeus Young had 23 points for Minnesota and Andrew Wiggins tallied 22 in the loss, with Gorgui Dieng amassing 14 points and 13 rebounds. Minnesota battled hard to turn a 10-point third-quarter deficit into a 91-86 lead with under five minutes to play, but went cold down the stretch and the Nuggets regained the upper hand behind an 8-0 run capped by two Chandler free throws with 3:30 to go. The Timberwolves again fought back to tie the game at 98-98 when Mo Williams fed Young for a short basket with 1:49 remaining. However, Lawson burst into the lane for a layup on the ensuing possession and Denver was able to stay in front with superior foul shooting down the stretch. Minnesota went to the line on three of its next four trips down the court, but Young, Wiggins and Dieng each went just 1-of-2 to keep the Nuggets ahead each time. Arron Afflalo followed Diengs attempts by making both of his free throw tries for a 104-101 Denver edge with 17.1 seconds to play, and Minnesota turned it over on its next set when Chase Budinger stepped out of bounds just before hitting what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer. The Timberwolves managed just one point over the remaining time. Were a young team and sometimes it happens like that at the end of the game, Young said. You just cant find a shot or you cant make a free throw. Denver had opened up a 67-57 lead near the midway mark of the third quarter when the Timberwolves began to charge back, with Wiggins triple with 3:24 left in the period finishing off a 9-3 push that trimmed the margin to four points. The Nuggets lead was just one when Minnesota went on a 10-4 stretch to claim a 91-86 cushion with 5:32 to play. Denver began the contest on a 12-5 surge but trailed 29-26 early in the second quarter, with Youngs 10 points over the opening frame helping Minnesota forge ahead. The Nuggets went back in front when Farieds second-chance dunk gave the hosts a 36-35 edge nearing the midway mark of the second quarter, and Denver was up as many as seven before entering the break owning a 53-47 advantage. Faried was the main factor in Denvers halftime lead, amassing 14 points on 5- of-6 shooting while pulling down an impressive 14 rebounds over the first two quarters. Game Notes Farieds previous career high for rebounds was 21, set against Utah on April 12 of last season ... Minnesota is on its longest losing streak since a seven- game slide from Mar. 30-April 17, 2012, while Fridays loss was the clubs seventh in a row on the road ... The Nuggets finished with a commanding 62-44 advantage on the glass ... Williams tied a season best with 13 assists for the Wolves ... Denver was 25-of-32 overall at the foul line, compared to a 17- of-24 performance for Minnesota. Shoes UK Online Cheap . Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley told local media in comments published Wednesday that John Tomic would not be allowed into Melbourne Park in any official capacity or as a spectator. Wholesale Shoes UK . Sweeting scored two in the first and three in the second before Strong (4-4) got two back in the fourth. Sweeting then scored three in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh to grab a commanding 9-2 lead. https://www.shoesukonline.com/ . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. Shoes UK From China . Expensive. The NFL fined Tomlin $100,000 on Wednesday for interfering with Baltimores Jacoby Jones on a kickoff return in the third quarter of a 22-20 loss to the Ravens on Thanksgiving night. Cheap Shoes UK 2020 . Thats exactly what happened. And they enjoyed every moment. Durant remained sizzling with 33 points, Serge Ibaka added 22 and the Thunder roared back from an abysmal start -- they trailed 22-4 early -- to embarrass the Miami Heat 112-95 on Wednesday night, erasing that big deficit out of the gate by outscoring the two-time defending champions by 43 points over a 33-minute span. NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony had plenty of help against the struggling Philadelphia 76ers. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 28 points as the New York Knicks had four players score 20 or more points and defeated Philadelphia 123-110 on Monday night, sending the 76ers to their 17th straight loss. Amare Stoudemire added 23 points to tie a season high, and Anthony and J.R. Smith each scored 22 as the Knicks won their fourth game in a row and fell just short of their season-high points total. "I love nights like this," Anthony said. "Four guys with 20-plus points. Sharing the ball. Making plays. Having fun out there. Taking the load off me. I love nights like that." Hardaway did most of his scoring in the fourth quarter, opening the period with a 3-pointer and making five of his eight shots, including three 3-pointers as the Knicks six-point lead entering the final quarter grew to as many as 21. Overall, he scored 13 in the final 12 minutes. "I was just trying to get myself open," Hardaway said. "I just came in today and I just started hitting my shots. Everyone was moving the ball and taking open shots. Stat got us going. J.R. was getting going and then Pablo (Prigioni) and everybody started finding me, so I just wanted to get myself going." Stoudemire started his fifth straight game for the Knicks. He had come off the bench in all but one other game this season. "It feels great, Stoudemire said. "I have been working extremely hard to get back to my normal self. My confidence is there. It never left." Michael Carter-Williams recorded a triple-double with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for Philadelphia, mired in its longest skid since the 1972-73 season. "I am trying not to think about it," Carter-Williams said. "We lose and we have to move on to the next one. People are writing about it and thats fine, but we are going to stay focused as a team." Philadelphia did get off to a good start, taking a 29-17 lead on James Andersons 3-pointer with 2:45 left in the first quarter. Smith scored 12 of his points in the opening quarter. "We were just trying to chip awayy at it," Smith said.dddddddddddd "Weve been in that situation numerous times this year, so we just tried to chip away at it and not hit any home-run plays." The Knicks did pull to within five at the end of the quarter and were even at 61 at halftime. The 76ers took a 67-66 lead following two free throws by Jarvis Varnado with 10:22 left in the third quarter, but the Knicks scored the next eight points to take a 74-67 lead. The lead was short-lived, however, as Philadelphia countered with its own 8-0 run to reclaim a one-point lead. After Thaddeus Youngs short jumper gave Philadelphia a 79-78 lead, the Knicks went on a 9-0 run with Anthony scoring the final five points to give the Knicks the lead for good. "We finally got solid defensively in the third quarter and, in the fourth, we brought it home," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We made shots. That has been a key to our four-game winning streak." New York held a 91-85 lead after three quarters and went on to take its biggest lead of the game, 110-89, on the fourth of Hardaways five 3-pointers with 7:37 left. The Knicks never led by less than 12 the rest of the way. Raymond Felton added 13 points for the Knicks. Tony Wroten also scored 23 points for Philadelphia. Young finished with 18 and Anderson had 17 for the 76ers. "Tim Hardaway is a good player. Carmelo is Carmelo," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "You look around the gym and you have to pick your poison. They really have a lot of offensive firepower." NOTES: The Knicks highest points total of the season came in a 125-96 win over Charlotte on Jan. 24. ... The last time the Knicks had four 20-point scorers in a game was against the Celtics on April 12, 2012 (Anthony 35, Steve Novak 25, Smith 25, Tyson Chandler 20). ... Chandler was not with the Knicks due to "personal reasons." ... The Knicks have purchased a NBA D-League team which will play its home games in White Plains, N.Y., beginning next season. The teams nickname has not yet been decided. ... Shannon Brown and Earl Clark were both signed to second 10-day contracts by the Knicks on Monday. ' ' '