MINNEAPOLIS -- The Denver Nuggets did just enough offensively to eke out a 78-74 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Wednesday.

Forward Danilo Gallinari scored a game-high 20 points as Denver snapped a six-game losing streak and won for the first time since Dec. 23.

Leading by one point at the end of the third quarter, Denver managed just 12 points in the fourth but limited Minnesota to nine points on 2-of-20 shooting.

"There's no such thing as an ugly win," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "Both teams needed this one. I'm just glad we were able to pull it out and execute down the stretch to get the win."

The loss was Minnesota fourth in a row and eighth in its last nine games.

"It's been the story of our season," Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell said. "We hold a team to (35) percent (shooting)? It's hard to play better defense than that. To hold a team to 78 points, 12 in the fourth quarter? But our guys our young and they haven't developed that scorers mentality."

Trailing by two, Minnesota had a chance to tie the game late, but guard Andrew Wiggins missed an open look from 14 feet out, then missed wildly on a second opportunity. Forward Karl-Anthony Towns' rebound gave Minnesota a third opportunity, but his shot was blocked by Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur and went out of bounds off Towns.

Denver forward Will Barton sank both of his ensuing free throws to make it a two-possession game.

Towns led the Timberwolves 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Wiggins added 11 points on just 4-of-14 shooting from the floor.

Gallinari had 10 points during the third quarter, including a 3-pointer to cap a 15-4 run that gave the Nuggets their first lead since early in the second quarter.

"It always feels good when you get a win, no matter what," Gallinari said. "I thought tonight the focus was on defense and we did a great job. We've got to play that kind of defense every game."

Minnesota led by as many as 10 points early in the third quarter behind an 8-2 surge out of the locker room.

Guard Shabazz Muhammad drilled a 19-foot jumper seconds into the fourth to give the Wolves their final lead of the night at 67-66 but followed with a stretch of more than seven minutes until their next field goal.

Despite the struggles offensively, Towns' lay-in with 4:35 remaining pulled Minnesota to within three points.

Denver went more than five minutes without scoring a point down the stretch and did not make a field goal in the final 7:20 of regulation.

Gallinari made a pair of free throws with 5:37 to play and Denver didn't score again until Barton's two late makes from the charity stripe. Denver improved to 9-4 this season when Gallinari reaches 20 points.

Nuggets center Jusef Nurkic, still working his way back from a knee injury, had 15 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.

"I've not played in eight months," Nurkic said. "It's tough now because we don't have practice and I need to try and find shape in games."

Denver (13-23) stayed in the game in the first half thanks to its accuracy from beyond the arc. The Nuggets trailed by four points after the first quarter and by just two at the half despite shooting 36.6 percent from the floor. Denver connected on six of 10 3-pointers in the first half.

Minnesota (12-24) shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half but attempted only four 3-pointers, connecting on two of them. For the game, the Timberwolves hit 38.4 percent of their field-goal attempts, including three of 11 from long distance.

"We put so much pressure on our defense with our inability to score on a consistent basis," Mitchell said. "We just have a hard time (scoring). We have to keep working, keep plugging away."

The Nuggets finished with a 46-40 edge on the glass and outscored the Wolves 30-26 in the paint.

NOTES: Nuggets G Emmanuel Mudiay was a late scratch because of a lingering ankle injury. Mudiay has missed the past month because of the ailment sustained against the Timberwolves on Dec. 15. ... Timberwolves C Nikola Pekovic was active for the first time this season after recovering from surgery to his Achilles tendon in April. Pekovic scored 12 points off the bench in almost 16 minutes of action. ... Denver completes a stretch of four of five games on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. ... Minnesota continues its four-game homestand the same night when it hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers.