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The Minnesota Timberwolves (23-26) host the Denver Nuggets (26-22) on Sunday afternoon at the Target Center as the race for the final playoff spots in the Western Conference heats up. Denver currently holds the eight spot in the West but are essentially tied with sixth place Memphis and seventh place Utah while Minnesota remains in the chase as one of seven teams within four games of Memphis and sixth place.
The Timberwolves are slipping though, trailing Denver and their coveted playoff spot by 3.5 games after going 2-7 in their last nine games, as they have struggled to adjust to losing guard Ricky Rubio. Forward Kevin Love scored 51 points for Minnesota in their loss to Oklahoma City on Friday and the Wolves will need another big game from Love in his matchup with rookie Kenneth Faried.
Denver shook up their roster at the trading deadline by trading center Nene Hilario and bringing in young center JaVale McGee. They also recently signed Wilson Chandler after he returned from playing in China which has helped fill the void left after losing Danilo Gallinari to a broken thumb.
The game tips off at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on Fox Sports North.
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