Jamal Murray leaves game in concussion protocol, Nuggets fall to Timberwolves on Anthony Edwards’ late bucket

MINNEAPOLIS — Aaron Gordon transformed into Steph Curry, Christian Braun put the NBA on notice with his athleticism, and Nikola Jokic was dazzling as usual. And still, the Nuggets didn’t have enough to overcome the loss of Jamal Murray in Minnesota.

Murray exited the game for concussion protocol early in the second half, and Denver’s 16-point comeback was overshadowed by a 10-point blown lead in the fourth quarter for a 119-116 loss Friday night to the Timberwolves.

Denver (2-3) has not won a game in regulation this season.

Anthony Edwards scored on a floater over Michael Porter Jr. with 25.7 seconds left for the lead, the Nuggets were unable to get a good shot off in traffic on the ensuing possession. Rudy Gobert made a pair of free throws, and Jokic missed a contested corner 3-pointer as time expired. Jokic finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and 13 assists. Gordon scored 31 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three. But Edwards went for 29, and Julius Randle added 23 for Minnesota.

Both teams erased double-digit deficits during the fourth quarter.

The Nuggets largely out-played Minnesota in the first quarter. They jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead in the paint, assisted 12 of their 13 made baskets in the frame capitalizing on five Timberwolves turnovers by getting up nine more shot attempts than them.

It didn’t matter, because Minnesota shot 7 for 12. Winning the math game meant having the lead. It was 33-29.

Then the second unit happened. Denver fell behind by as many as 16 after its four bench players combined to shoot 1 for 14 in the first half.

Russell Westbrook, whose minutes had started innocently enough with three assists, started making sloppy plays. Michael Malone pulled the plug and subbed in Braun after just eight minutes of the backup point guard. Then Gordon and Porter immediately carried an 11-0 run by pushing the tempo and knocking down jumpers. Braun drew a foul while dunking in transition. The starting five seized back control even with Murray on the periphery again.

Malone had predicted pregame that unlike in Toronto and Brooklyn, the Nuggets couldn’t afford to fall behind “15 or 17” against this team. He was right, technically. But they could afford to fall behind 16. For the time being, anyway.

Malone made a tweak to his rotation before Murray’s injury. He went 10-deep for the first time this season, using Hunter Tyson to give Porter a rest after staggering. Tyson’s night was mostly quiet, but he did contribute an important sequence at the end of the third quarter by scoring his first points then contesting a Randle shot at the buzzer. That got Denver within six entering the fourth, setting up a critical stretch of Jokic rest minutes in which the gap expanded to 12 then contracted to four. (Another Gordon 3-pointer helped.)