Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Curtis Blair, #36 David Jones, #15 Bennett Salvatore
Attendance: 15389
Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting and Aaron Afflalo added 22 points as the Denver Nuggets got past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 113-100, on Saturday.
Chauncey Billups chipped in 21 points and 13 assists for the Nuggets, who shot 54 percent from the floor to bounce back from a home loss to Utah on Friday.
Denver was up 72-58 after Billups drained a 3-pointer with 9:06 left in the third and held onto a double-digit edge until the Timberwolves made their run, closing with a 12-4 burst to pull within 87-84 heading into the final frame.
Minnesota hung around for most of the fourth quarter, sitting within four points with three minutes to play. But J.R. Smith hit a jumper and Billups scored seven points over the final 2:18 to help the Nuggets pull away.
Kevin Love collected 18 points and 19 rebounds for his 36th straight double-double and Michael Beasley scored 23 for the Timberwolves, who have dropped three straight and nine of 10.
| Denver | Minnesota | |
| Carmelo Anthony 25 | Scoring | Michael Beasley 23 |
| Chauncey Billups 13 | Assists | Michael Beasley 5 |
| Al Harrington 7 | Rebounds | Kevin Love 19 |
| Carmelo Anthony 5 | Free Throws Made | Michael Beasley 8 |
| J.R. Smith 3 | Steals | Wesley Johnson 2 |
| Chris Andersen 1 | Blocks | Darko Milicic 3 |
| Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
| Denver | 113 | 54.4 | 11-27 | 16-22 | 30 | 46 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
| Minnesota | 100 | 38.9 | 7-27 | 19-26 | 23 | 45 | 5 | 6 | 8 |
- Minnesota will play their next game on the road against New Orleans. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .182 after a win and .231 after a loss.
- Denver will play their next game at home against Houston. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .517 after a win and .682 after a loss.