The Wolves led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter but choked away what was a strong 2 1/2 quarters by allowing the Nuggets to drain a slew of three-pointers without an answer from the visitors.
For some reason, it took until the Nuggets made eight consecutive three-point shot attempts that Sam Mitchell instructed his guards to go over ball-screens, but by then the damage had been done. Jameer Nelson had a field day in the third quarter after rookie Emmanuel Mudiay left the game at halftime with a sprained ankle.
A strategy that might have worked against Mudiay — one of the worst players in the NBA thus far this season and a 25.