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Nuggets vs. Timberwolves recap: Late rally falls just short for Denver in 108-105 loss

One night after a huge rally over Detroit, the Nuggets couldn't muster the same magic against Minnesota.

Greg Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets weren't able to make it two straight come-from-behind wins this week. Down by 11 points with two minutes to go, the Nuggets put together a furious scoring charge, but came up short in a 108-105 loss.

After a Luke Ridnour three-pointer made it 101-90 with 2:02 left in the game, Corey Brewer and Danilo Gallinari each hit a three to cut the lead to five, 101-96. After two Timberwolves free throws, Brewer slammed home an Andre Iguodala pass, then followed it with another dunk off a turnover by Dante Cunningham, cutting the lead to three.

The Timberwolves turned the ball over on their next possession with a five-second call, giving Denver the ball and a chance to tie the game. But Ty Lawson's pass was picked off by Andrei Kirilenko, his fourth steal of the game, for a dunk and a 105-100 lead. The teams traded free throws before yet another Brewer three made it 107-105. Minnesota hit just one of its two subsequent free throws, and Denver once again had the ball with the chance to tie. But a last-second three-point attempt by Lawson was off the mark.

Gallinari and Kenneth Faried were the offensive stars for Denver, finishing with 24 and 26 points, respectively. Faried added 14 rebounds, and Gallinari hit 9-of-13 shots and 4-of-5 three-pointers. Brewer scored 14 off the bench, seven coming in those final two minutes. Iguodala was nowhere to be seen for the Nuggets, as he finished with just two points on 1-of-9 shooting and turned the ball over five times. For Minnesota, Kirilenko, J.J. Barea and Nikola Pekovic carried the squad on a bad night for Kevin Love, who was 3-of-17 for eight points.