The Denver Nuggets played in one of the best games of the 2024-25 NBA regular season on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for them, they were on the losing end of a thriller. The Nuggets dropped a nail-biting 140-139 in double overtime to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Russell Westbrook is sure to get put under a microscope after this one.
The all-time great point guard finished the night with a respectable 12 points, seven assists, six rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. However, the last couple of plays left a sour taste in the mouths of several people.
Westbrook missed a late-game layup that could have put the Nuggets in a favorable position to seal the deal on the lead they had. The athletic guard then proceeded to commit a shooting foul on the final possession of the game, allowing the Timberwolves to win it at the free throw line.
Michael Malone took to the podium after the game and the brutal late-game sequence was on every reporter's mind. Malone answered the questions honestly, sending a clear message to his future Hall of Fame guard.
"I also know who Russell Westbrook is, and he's a guy that hates to lose," the Nuggets coach told the media. "He may not want to hear any of that stuff, because he's a perfectionist, and he's a competitor. Knowing Russ the way I do, he's probably going to put a lot of this on him, but we lost tonight, the Denver Nuggets. We, as a collective group, lost the game tonight. [It was] not one player."
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This loss against the Timberwolves continues a worrying pattern for the Nuggets. They have now lost six games in a row to Minnesota, dating back to their 2024 second-round playoff series. Depending on how the final few weeks of the season go down, this could very well be a first-round matchup for Denver.
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This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 5:59 AM.