DENVER - Andrew Wiggins was sick and tired. Not of losing — although it has been a trying season — but from a bug he cant shake and fatigue that carried over from logging big minutes the night before.No matter. Hes young and resilient, and easily shook all that off to turn in his best performance.Wiggins scored a career-high 31 points and Robbie Hummel had two big tip-in baskets in the fourth quarter, helping the Minnesota Timberwolves hold off the Denver Nuggets 113-105 on Saturday night.The dynamic rookie out of Kansas was 11 of 17 from the floor, including four 3-pointers. The top pick in last years draft has scored 20 or more points in eight of his last 10 games.Wiggins improvement this season has been so noticeable that even an official on the court made a comment to Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders.He said, Wiggins, how much hes improved in a month is almost astonishing, recounted Saunders, whose team is 4-16 on the road and 3-16 at home. He continues to get better and amaze, do everything.Wiggins big night also included nine rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. Asked which number stood out to him, he smirked and responded, The win. Definitely.We got the win, played hard, executed down the stretch, added Wiggins, whose previous high was 29 points against Sacramento on Nov. 22. Nothing feels better than that.This recent stretch is exactly what the Timberwolves were expecting from Wiggins when they traded for him, leading Saunders to say, hes probably ahead of what anyone anticipated what he would be.Hummel finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Thaddeus Young added 22 points.The Timberwolves hardly looked weary down the stretch in the thin air of the Mile High City despite losing the night before in Phoenix. Theyre now 2-7 on the second night of a back-to-back.Ty Lawson had 22 points for the Nuggets, who lost the night before in Dallas, snapping a five-game win streak.Jameer Nelson had 16 points in his home debut for Denver. The diminutive guard was acquired Tuesday in a deal that sent Nate Robinson to Boston.When you lose you think you can do a lot of things better, Nelson said. Ill be kicking myself in the butt thinking about what I could have done better.Hummels work around the rim propelled the Timberwolves down the stretch. His second tap-in off a miss by Young gave the Timberwolves a 96-95 lead with 5:25 remaining. Mo Williams kept the lead intact by hitting basket after basket each time the Nuggets made a run.Wilson Chandler was fouled after hitting a 3-pointer. He missed the free throw, and Kenneth Faried tapped it in to make it 108-105 with 1:41 remaining. But Williams hit a long shot to quiet the rally.We didnt do a good job of taking that punch. We delivered that punch and they got hot, Nelson said.Even though Wiggins had a splendid all-around game, Williams wasnt about praise him too much. Wiggins is, after all, only a rookie.A lot of strides he can continue to make, Williams said. Rookies run into a wall right now, but hes hitting his stride, which is good. Its tough to log a lot of minutes in this league, do it consistently every day. Have to go out and produce. ... I think hes handling it pretty well.___TIP-INSTimberwolves: Saunders said guard Ricky Rubio still has soreness in the left ankle he sprained Nov. 7 at Orlando. Are we being cautious? Yeah. We just signed the guy to a $55 million contract, Saunders said. When hes ready to go and the doctors say that hes ready to really go, thats when hell go. ... G Kevin Martin (broken right wrist) and centre Nikola Pekovic (ankle, wrist) are both nearing a return. Asked if they might play Monday, Saunders responded, Well see. ... F Shabazz Muhammad (strained oblique) missed a fourth straight game.Nuggets: Lawson has struggled at the free throw line lately. His teammates haven taken to calling him Ty Rondo — a reference to Dallas guard Rajon Rondo, whos shooting 30 per cent from the line. Hopefully that will light his fire a little bit at the free throw line, coach Brian Shaw said. ... G Randy Foye returned after missing 26 games with a right quadriceps injury. He was 0 for 3 from the field.UP NEXTMinnesota plays at Charlotte on Monday.Denver plays at Golden State on Monday. Wholesale Nike Air Max From China . This is Lowry’s third time winning the award in his career. He won the award last season and as a member of the Houston Rockets in 2011. Nike Air Max Sale . Unlike last year when nobody got in, there have been estimates of as many as five getting voted in this time around and as few as one, Greg Maddux. https://www.wholesalenikeairmaxshoes.com/.C. -- Gleason Fournier scored the shootout winner as the Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Abbotsford Heat 4-3 Friday in American Hockey League action. Fake Nike Air Max Replica .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. Cheap Air Max 270 . In fact, with a few improvements, this could very well be a decent team over the next few seasons. I will go into more detail when digging into the Canucks Off-Season Game Plan, which will be coming earlier this year since they are part of the non-playoff contingent, there are some reasons to think this is a favourable situation for President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden and whomever he selects to be the new general manager.RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- The world players union on Friday accused World Cup organizer FIFA of failing to protect Uruguay midfielder Alvaro Pereira after he played on following a hard blow to the head that he said felt "like the lights went out." Pereira lay motionless after colliding with Raheem Sterlings knee in the 61st minute of Uruguays 2-1 victory on Thursday. Even though he appeared like a punch-drunk boxer, Pereira ultimately was allowed to return in the 63rd minute. The union urged FIFA "to conduct a thorough investigation into its own competition concussion protocol which failed to protect Uruguayan footballer Alvaro Pereira." It asked for "urgent talks and immediate assurances that FIFA can guarantee the safety of the players." It also suggested possible rule changes so players suspected of being concussed can be temporarily substituted while theyre diagnosed. "Football is awash with incidents in which players suffer potentially concussive blows to the head and stay on the pitch. In Pereiras case, he demanded to play on, overruling advice from Uruguays team physician for him to be immediately substituted," FIFPro said in a statement. "FIFPro understands that in certain moments, faced by the pressures of such an important international stage, many players would react in this way. There are times, however, when the players also require greater protection against the prospect of making any rash decisions." As he slid for a ball just outside Uruguays penalty area, Pereiras temple inadvertently struck Sterlings left knee. "After the hit, I only recall that I was unconscious for an instant," he said. "It was like the lights went out a little bit." Teammates surrounding the motionless player signalled for a stretcher. Team medical staff came onto the field. Pereira wobbled to the sideline. Uruguay physician Dr. Alberto Pan signalled for a substitution. Pereira seemed to be having troouble maintaining his balance.dddddddddddd He argued and angrily wagged a finger to signal he didnt want to be substituted. "I said sorry a thousand times to the doctor because I was dizzy. It was that moment your adrenaline flowing in your body, maybe without thinking ... what I really wanted to do was to help get the result," the 28-year-old Sao Paulo FC player recalled. "What really matters is that everything is OK. Nothing happened. It was just a scare". Pereira said a team doctor and a FIFA physician checked him after the match. There was no immediate confirmation on whether he sustained a concussion, a subject that is slowly moving up the agenda in the sport. FIFPro said it would monitor Pereiras health on Friday. "He must be subjected to further evaluation and follow-up procedures that help determine if and when he can return to training," it said. The union said it also is considering appointing its own independent doctors "for all future FIFA competitions." "The World Cup must set the standard for player health and safety to educate the international football community. Medical evidence shows that a person faces the risk of very serious brain injury, or worse, if he or she suffers a severe head trauma from a concussive blow," FIFPro said. "Furthermore, FIFPro states any sideline concussion assessment must not be conducted solely by a national team physician. In order to ensure real independence, FIFPros involvement, as the international authority representing the interests of the players, would ensure they are insulated at all times." In the English Premier League, Tottenham came under scrutiny in November for an incident involving goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Currently with the France squad at the World Cup, Lloris was allowed to play on after he was briefly knocked unconscious during a game after colliding with Evertons Romelu Lukaku, despite medical advice he leave the match. ' ' '