Nuggets-Timberwolves Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Apr 26 2012 2:00AM

The Denver Nuggets are cruising into the playoffs, and capping the regular season against the woeful Minnesota Timberwolves may just keep it that way.

Coach George Karl is also planning to take advantage of the seemingly lopsided matchup.

Karl is looking to limit playing time for key contributors as the Nuggets try to continue their dominance of the Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Denver (37-28) has won three straight and 10 of 14 to match a franchise record with its ninth straight trip to the postseason.

"You do this in the month of April and a lot of things and a lot of pressure and a lot of stress have been on you, I think that it shows that our guys have a pretty big heart and have some good character," Karl said.

"Everybody feels that we're playing our best basketball right now," he added.

The Nuggets' playoff opponent is still undecided, with either the Los Angeles Lakers or Oklahoma City as potential foes. A win over Minnesota (26-39) would secure the sixth seed and a series with the Lakers. A loss combined with Dallas beating Atlanta would mean the Nuggets are No. 7, setting up a playoff rematch with the Thunder, who eliminated them in five games in the opening round last year.

"We're going to go after (Thursday's) game," Karl said. "I'm not saying we want the Lakers over Oklahoma City. We just want to be playing as good of basketball as we've been playing.

"We're not going to play anybody big minutes (Thursday) but we're going to go in and try to win that game."

The Nuggets have done plenty of that against the Timberwolves, winning 18 of the last 20 matchups. They took the most recent 113-107 on April 11, but fell 117-100 in the latest visit to the Target Center on March 25.

Denver returns to Minneapolis coming off Wednesday's impressive 106-101 win at Oklahoma City.

Now, the Nuggets will try to capitalize on a Minnesota club that's dropped 12 of 13 with a depleted roster. The Timberwolves are without All-Star forward-center Kevin Love (concussion) and guards Ricky Rubio (knee) and Luke Ridnour (ankle).

Ty Lawson is averaging 22.7 points while hitting 56.5 percent from the field over the last six games - five wins - after scoring 25 versus the Thunder. He led Denver with 24 points and eight assists against the Timberwolves earlier this month.

Arron Afflalo scored 21 in that meeting, and is averaging 21.0 over his last three.

The Timberwolves are ending a rough season that has included losing 12 of the last 13 while surrendering an average of 103.3 points. They lost 93-88 to Golden State on Sunday and guard J.J. Barea ripped his teammates for not caring.

"We've got problems here," said Barea, who had 14 points and 12 assists while making 5 of 18 shots from the floor against the Warriors. "We've got a lot of guys that don't care. ... We're just going to keep getting Ls until we get players here that care, that care about winning, care about the team and care about the fans."

Michael Beasley, who made 3 of 11 from the field for eight points with nine rebounds Sunday, took exception to Barea's comments.

"Until you point those guys out one by one, it doesn't really matter," said Beasley, whose average of 11.5 points is a major drop from his career-high 19.2 from last season - his first with Minnesota.

Barea is averaging 15.6 points and 9.7 assists in the past 10 games, including 12 points and a career-high 15 assists against the Nuggets this month.

Nuggets beat Wolves to lock down 6th seed in West

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Posted Apr 27 2012 12:06AM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Denver Nuggets earned themselves another postseason date with the Los Angeles Lakers. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are going home for another long summer and Brad Miller is going home for good.

JaVale McGee scored 19 points to help the Nuggets lock down the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 131-102 victory over the Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Arron Afflalo scored 18 points and Danilo Gallinari had 17 points for the Nuggets, who won their fourth straight game and eighth in their last 10 as they surge into the postseason. Game 1 is Sunday at Staples Center.

"I'm just excited about being in the playoffs and I plan on playing as hard as I have since I've been in Denver," McGee said. "As long as we go out and play like we have been playing, we should be fine."

The Nuggets entered the game needing a win or a loss by Dallas in Atlanta to lock down the No. 6 seed in the West. Had they lost and Dallas won in Atlanta, the Nuggets would have faced No. 2 seed Oklahoma City in the first round.

It's not immediately clear if getting the sixth seed was a good thing for Denver. The Nuggets lost three of their four meetings with the Lakers this season and have never beaten them in six previous playoff series, the last one being a loss in the 2009 Western Conference finals.

"It's good and bad," coach George Karl said. "It's good that we did what we wanted to do from a standpoint of playing the right way and playing the season out hard. You get to play a championship caliber team and they have the home court."

Denver does seem to be playing some of its best basketball after a rough couple of weeks integrating McGee in the trade that sent longtime center Nene to Washington. The super-athletic McGee has scored in double figures in the last four games and his 19 points on Thursday night were his most in a Nuggets uniform.

"Where we were when we made the trade in the first week in March, to get to this point, I think it's a pretty spectacular performance from our guys," Karl said.

Nikola Pekovic had 18 points and 10 rebounds and J.J. Barea had 20 points and five assists for the Timberwolves, who will miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. The Wolves lost 13 of their last 14 games of the season.

The only bright spot in a terrible performance that included allowing 80 points in the paint to Denver was an emotional farewell for Miller, the crusty veteran center who is retiring after 14 years in the league. He scored four points with four rebounds and four assists and broke down on the bench after receiving a standing ovation when he left the game with five minutes to play.

He had to compose himself when talking about what coach Rick Adelman has meant to him over the years in stops with Sacramento, Houston and Minnesota.

"No, I've always been the tough guy," Miller said when asked if expected to be this emotional. "I had a couple friends that came into town. ... I've been all cool all day and coming out, it really hit me hard."

The outcome on Thursday night wasn't in doubt for very long. Karl rested forward Al Harrington, who has a strained right knee. But he played all the other regulars in their final tuneup, and the Nuggets were off and running from the start.

They outscored the Timberwolves 16-4 to start the second quarter, opening up a 45-29 lead that was never really threatened. Denver shot 63 percent and outrebounded the Wolves 48-29.

Adelman has been very unhappy with how his young team has responded to a rash of injuries to starters Ricky Rubio (knee), Kevin Love (concussion) and Luke Ridnour (ankle). Adelman went through a similar situation in Houston when stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming were lost.

Most of the Wolves wore headbands in warmups and in the game, a tribute to Miller. But that was about all the interest they showed in being on the floor on Thursday night.

Miller air-balled two shots in the first quarter and had an ugly turnover, but he did hit a 3-pointer in the fourth and got a hearty cheer from the sparse home crowd.

Adelman wished the Wolves could have sent one of his favorite players out on a better note.

"A lot of people made a statement in that game that they were done playing and the season wasn't over yet," Adelman said. "I don't understand the attitude. I don't understand why you would approach any job that way. Some guys made a big statement tonight."

NOTES: Love sat courtside for some guest color commentary with Fox Sports North in the second quarter. ... The Wolves finished with a record of 26-40, their most victories since 2006-07 and best winning percentage since 2005-06. ... Kenneth Faried had 15 points and seven rebounds and Kosta Koufos had 11 boards for the Nuggets.

Notebook: Nuggets 131, Wolves 103

Posted Friday April 27, 2012 12:03AM

By Phil Miller, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Denver Nuggets clinched the sixth seed in the Western Conference with ease on Thursday, making 63 percent of their shots and roaring to a 131-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis. The Nuggets, who have never missed the postseason in George Karl's eight seasons as coach, will open the postseason Sunday in Los Angeles against the Lakers, who have won all six previous playoff series between the teams.

JaVale McGee scored 19 points, one of seven Nuggets with at least a dozen, and Denver, the NBA's highest-scoring team, piled up 80 points in the paint against a hapless Minnesota defense. Denver went on a 16-2 second-quarter run to turn the game into a blowout, then spent the rest of the night taking turns making layups, finally finishing with a season-high point total.

J.J. Barea scored 20 points for the Wolves, who suffered their most lopsided loss of the season and closed the year by losing 13 of their last 14 games. Nikola Pekovic scored 18 points and, by making 56.4 percent of his shots this season, set a new franchise record for field-goal percentage, easily outdoing Kevin Garnett's Wolves-record 52.6 percent mark set in 2005-06.

The game was an emotional one for Minnesota center Brad Miller, who sobbed on the Minnesota bench after being removed with 5:09 remaining in the final game of his 14-year career. Miller, a two-time All-Star, announced his retirement last month.

QUOTABLE: "Did anybody pick us higher than sixth? I don't recall anyone picking us to make the playoffs."
-- Denver coach George Karl, saying he was "satisfied" with the Nuggets sixth-place finish in the Western Conference.

THE STAT: 52-65-65-71: Denver's shooting percentage by quarter, reflecting the Wolves' defensive intensity. The Nuggets set a new season-high with 62.9 percent shooting for the game

TURNING POINT: The Nuggets led by only four entering the second quarter, when coach George Karl chose to use a big lineup with two 7-footers, JaVale McGee and Kosta Koufos, at the same time. The pair overwhelmed Minnesota's defense, with McGee getting free for dunk after dunk. McGee outscored the Wolves 8-4 by himself over the first four minutes of the period, ballooning the lead to double digits for good.

QUOTABLE II: "[Bleep] no."
-- Wolves center Brad Miller, tearful as he was taken out of the game and again in the locker room, asked if the emotion of the moment had made him reconsider his decision to retire after 14 seasons.

HOT: JaVale McGee made 9-for-12 shots, each figure a new high-mark since being traded to Denver in March, and led the Nuggets with 19 points. The former Wizard made 67.5 percent of his shots over the last 10 games, eight of them Denver victories.

NOT: Derrick Williams' rookie season ended with a whimper, as the Wolves' forward averaged only 5.9 points (on 20.0 percent shooting) since April 12. He was 1-for-6 in the Timberwolves' finale.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Former Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera was in the third row across from the Wolves' bench, holding her two-month-old son Sebastian, their first appearance at a game since his birth. Rivera, a former Miss Puerto Rico, is married to Minnesota guard J.J. Barea.

ROOKIE WATCH: Kenneth Faried's energy on the floor anchored a pesky Denver defense, and the rookie from Morehead State closed a promising rookie season with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

NOTABLE: Brad Miller launched a 3-pointer from straight away with 7:18 remaining in the game, and when it went, he kissed his shooting hand and raised it aloft. It was the 9,724th and final point of Miller's 14-year career. When he was removed from the game a few minutes later, after recording two more of his four assists, Miller wept on the Wolves' bench as each of his teammates, and finally coach Rick Adelman, hugged him. Miller, who was never drafted out of Purdue but went on to make two All-Star teams, announced his retirement last month. As a tribute, most of his Timberwolves teammates wore Miller's trademark headband during the game. ... Nuggets coach George Karl benched forward Al Harrington for the season's final game, in order to rest his strained right knee for the playoffs. ... The Wolves were without starters Luke Ridnour (sprained ankle), Kevin Love (concussion) and Ricky Rubio (knee surgery) for the seventh straight game. ... Minnesota finished 1-12 in April, and 0-7 at home. Since April 9, 2006, the Wolves have gone 1-28 at Target Center in April. ... Adelman confirmed he will return for a second season as the Timberwolves' coach, though he admitted this season was "a grind," moreso than he expected. "I enjoyed the first 45 games. Before I knew it, I wasn't enjoying it," he said. "It really was hard. The last three weeks have been very difficult. Usually, you feel like if you do these certain things, you have a shot to win. But these three weeks, no matter what we did, it felt like we were behind the eight ball the whole time." The Timberwolves must be aggressive in trying to improve their team this summer, he said -- "Really, we're a piece or two from being in the mix," he said -- and he expects to have a voice in those changes. "When I took the job, we agreed that we will talk through everything we do," he said.

UP NEXT: For the Nuggets, Sunday at L.A. Lakers; rest of playoffs TBA. For the Timberwolves, end of season.

• Nuggets: Chandler, Fernandez
• Timberwolves: Love, Rubio

• Nuggets: --
• Timberwolves: Barea

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #36 David Jones, #31 Scott Wall
• Attendance: 14824
• Duration: 2:02