RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- Keon Clark appeared to be on the way to a tough
night, failing to find even the rim on three of his first eight
shots.
Once in overtime, it was a different scenario.
Clark hit a shot that put Denver ahead, then came back with a
fadeaway jump shot with one second left in overtime to lift the
Nuggets over the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-107 Wednesday night.
"We needed an unlikely hero to step up. We just needed anybody to step up," said Denver coach Dan Issel, whose team held a team meeting after Monday's loss to Dallas. "We liked the matchup with him and Wally Szczerbiak and Keon went up and shot that ball with a purpose."
Denver's George McCloud hit a 10-foot shot with 1.2 seconds left
in the fourth quarter, forcing the extra period.
In overtime, the Nuggets called a timeout with 18 seconds left.
Clark caught a pass from McCloud along the baseline, gave a head
fake to Szczerbiak and scored from about four feet out.
"I had to shoot it," Clark said. "There was only a second left and if I pass it, we run out of time and go to double overtime.
"They had too many fouls to give for us to go another
overtime," he said. "This was an important win tonight for our
team."
Terrell Brandon missed from just inside the 3-point arc as time expired. Clark finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
Minnesota coach Flip Saunders thought it should have been a goaltending call on Raef LaFrentz, who jumped up and caught the ball on Brandon's shot.
"You have one guy, the lead official (Joe Crawford) at
half-court, and the trailing guy makes the call that it is
goaltending," said Saunders, who argued the ruling as the
officials left the court. "You've got the trailing official closer
than where Joey is, and he indicates that LaFrentz came up under
the ball to bring it back."
Voshon Lenard came off the bench to score 20 points for the Nuggets. LaFrentz added 19 points and 15 rebounds.
Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 16 rebounds. Brandon added 21 points as all five Minnesota starters reached double figures.
Once in overtime, LaFrentz gave Denver a 103-101 lead with a
3-pointer, but Brandon answered with a jumper to tie it. Clark's
reverse layup and two free throws by Garnett kept it tied at
105-105.
LaFrentz's putback of Nick Van Exel's miss was matched by two
more free throws by Garnett.
With 1:20 left in the fourth quarter, Wally Szczerbiak put the Timberwolves ahead 98-95 with a off-balance jump shot. LaFrentz hit one of two free throws for Denver and after Minnesota missed two
shots, McCloud tied it.
Lenard and McCloud had consecutive layups to put the Nuggets
ahead 88-86 with 8:52 left, only to have Brandon score seven points
in a three-minute stretch to give Minnesota a 94-91 edge.
"Our locker room felt a lot better after this one," Issel said. "Losing the way we have can tear a team's heart out."
Game notes
The Timberwolves have five former Nuggets on their roster.
... Ex-Nugget and former Colorado Buffalo star Chauncey Billups got
an ovation when introduced. ... Minnesota trailed for the first
time at the half. It was the first time the Timberwolves hadn't
held a double-digit lead at intermission. ... With two technical
fouls, the Nuggets have been whistled for nine technicals in their
first five games. ... Back spasms limited Denver's Antonio McDyess
to 23 minutes. ... Denver has won seven of nine overtime games and
is 44-58 all-time. ... The Nuggets led at halftime for the first
time this year. ... Denver's bench outscored Minnesota's 54-14.
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NBA Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Indiana 108
Milwaukee 97
Philadelphia 103
Detroit 94
New Jersey 102
Washington 86
Miami 87
Seattle 81
Cleveland 99
New York 97
Charlotte 96
Orlando 90
Vancouver 101
Dallas 74
San Antonio 91
LA Lakers 81
Denver 109
Minnesota 107
Utah 93
LA Clippers 87
Sacramento 115
Golden State 84
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