Jamal Murray leaves the game due to a concussion, the Nuggets fall to the Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Aaron Gordon morphed into Steph Curry, Christian Braun put the NBA on notice with his athleticism and Nikola Jokic was dazzling as always. And yet the Nuggets didn't have enough to overcome the loss of Jamal Murray in Minnesota.

Murray left the game and suffered a concussion early in the second half. Denver's 16-point comeback was overshadowed by a 10-point lead in the final 3:30 of a 119-116 loss to the Timberwolves on Friday night.

“Jamal is our bottom man,” said Gordon, who scored 31 points on 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range. “So when he’s not on the ground, it’s just a little more sporadic.”

Anthony Edwards scored with a floater over Michael Porter Jr. with 25.7 seconds left, and the Nuggets were unable to get off a good shot as Braun ran into traffic on the ensuing possession. Rudy Gobert made two free throws, then Jokic missed a contested corner 3-pointer as time expired. Jokic finished the game with 26 points, nine rebounds and 13 assists. Porter scored his 26 points. But Edwards settled for 29, and Gobert ended up contributing 17 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks and a series of excellent defensive possessions.

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

Murray's status for Saturday night's back-to-back game against the Jazz is unknown, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after the loss. After the collision that caused Murray's injury, play continued uninterrupted on several possessions while he was clearly in pain.

“I don’t know how they missed that,” Malone said. “He wanted to put up a rip screen. And his defender wasn't malicious, it wasn't a dirty game, but he was pushing him. And it was just a lot of bodies moving at high speeds. And I think he hit his head. I don't know if it was Julius (Randle) or Aaron or who exactly was involved. But it was definitely a big blow, so of course we will always prioritize his health and safety. And make sure he's okay. If he can't play, we obviously hope to get him back as soon as possible, but I just don't want to speculate because I really don't know any further details on that.”

The Nuggets played far better than Minnesota, but were 21 points above the 3-point line on the night. That trend was evident early on as they quickly built a 12-2 lead, assisted on 12 of their 13 baskets in the first quarter and capitalized on five Timberwolves turnovers by having nine more shot attempts than they had on the frame.

That didn't matter because Minnesota shot 7 for 12 from outside. 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 points after its four substitutes 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 replaced Braun as backup point guard after just eight minutes. Then Gordon and Porter immediately went on an 11-0 run by increasing the tempo and knocking down jumpers. Braun drew a foul while dunking in transition. The starting five regained control, even with Murray once again on the sidelines.