Wolves gameday

7 p.m. VS. Denver • Target CTR. • FSN, 830-AM

Preview: The Wolves have lost three consecutive and seven of their past eight. They are 5-13 at home, have lost three of their past four at Target Center and are coming off a 109-99 loss in Philadelphia on Monday that was only the 76ers' fourth victory of the season. … Denver is also reeling; their 112-106 loss to Portland on Sunday was the Nuggets' sixth in a row and their ninth loss in 10 games. … This is the fourth and final game between the two teams this season. The Wolves won the first, the Nuggets won the past two.

Players to watch: Wolves F/G Shabazz Muhammad is coming off season highs in points (20) and minutes (34:21) vs. Philadelphia. After scoring in double figures for 10 consecutive games, rookie C Karl-Anthony Towns has posted back-to-back eight-point games. F/G Andrew Wiggins' nine shot attempts Monday was his second-lowest total of the season. … Nuggets G Emmanuel Mudiay could return for the first time since spraining an ankle vs. the Wolves on Dec. 11. Backup G Randy Foye — a former Wolves player — hit five three-pointers in a 17-point third quarter to lead Denver to victory over Minnesota on Dec. 15.

Numbers: Over the past eight games, the Wolves have been outscored by 11.3 points and outrebounded by eight boards per game. One big problem? Closing games out. The Wolves have been outscored in the fourth quarter in six of the past eight games. In the current three-game losing streak, the Wolves have been outscored by a total of 34 points in the fourth.

Injuries: Wolves C Nikola Pekovic (Achilles' surgery) is questionable. … Nuggets F Kenneth Faried (cervical injury) and G Emmanuel Mudiay (right ankle) are probable. F Wilson Chandler (hip surgery) is out.

Kent Youngblood