Ricky Rubio missed Sunday's game due to personal reasons. Insert rookie Kris Dunn, who played more than 34 minutes. Dunn's stat line looked very Rubio-esque as he finished with 10 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals.
Serving as Dunn's main backup was second-year guard Tyus Jones. Jones was productive as well, finishing with nine points and four assists.
Rubio is expected to be back with the team on Monday when the Wolves travel to play the Suns in Phoenix, but Sunday night was a confidence booster for Dunn and Jones.
Karl-Anthony Towns carried the Wolves with a monster stat line of 32 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and a steal. Over the last three games, his numbers have been ridiculous: 32 points, 13.3 rebounds, four assists and 1.7 blocks per game.
Towns will be a candidate for the Western Conference Player of the Week and there's a very real chance he'll be named as an All-Star reserve come Thursday.
We are only 44 games into the season so it's hard to get too high (or low) after a game, but as far as the playoffs go, this was a pretty big win. The Nuggets are currently the No. 8 seed in the West with an 18-25 record. With the win, the 16-28 Wolves are now just 2.5 games back. And the Wolves have a chance to gain more ground with three of their next four games at home. And those are very winnable games: Jan. 24 at Phoenix, Jan. 26 vs. Indiana, Jan. 28 vs. Brooklyn and Jan. 30 vs. Orlando.
The Wolves are back in action Tuesday night against the Suns in Phoenix. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on Fox Sports North Plus and 830 WCCO.
