Comparisons between the two teams have been made for the last few years and with good reason. If there’s one team in the NBA that the Denver Nuggets are most like, it’s the Minnesota Timberwolves. And it starts with their talented big men, Nikola Jokic and Karl-Anthony Towns.

After Wednesday night’s game, in which the Nuggets barely won by a score of 105-103, the Nuggets and Timberwolves find themselves in similar situations for the immediate future: They both would like to make the playoffs.

One team with a record of 10-22 and in the 12th spot in the Western Conference standings (Minnesota), the other with a record of 14-18 and right outside of the eighth spot (Denver).

Both teams are very talented young bunches, but neither knows yet how to translate all of that potential into wins.

While both have intriguing young players, those losses have amounted to not much fan attention (they rank last (Denver) and second-to-last (Minnesota) in attendance in the NBA), but that did not stop two of the best young players in the league from squaring off at Pepsi Center Wednesday and delivering a show that we’ll be talking about for quite some time.

For Minnesota, reigning rookie of the year Karl-Anthony Towns leads the way. The big man looked out of sorts for a moment as Denver elected to place Wilson Chandler on him and double-team every chance they got. It took a moment, but the big man seemed to figure it out as he distributed the ball to free himself.

“When teams double-, triple- or quadruple-team you, you just have to pass it out and trust your teammates to hit shots,” said Towns. “Our team is working hard to hit shots.”

But make no mistake, Towns got his. Despite the constant double-teams, the big man had a huge fourth quarter and still put up a triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, his first of the year.

Andrew Wiggins benefited most from the double-team placed on Towns, as he finished with 25 points. Gorgui Dieng added 20 points. There were shots being made, just not enough as the Timberwolves eventually fell when Wiggins had a shot blocked in the closing seconds and a potential game-winning heave from Zach Lavine barely missed.

As good as Towns was, Denver has a young player also in his sophomore season who looked just as good: Nikola Jokic.

Jokic finished the game with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists. The 11 assists represented a career high, but according to head coach Michael Malone, he has been one of the best passing big men throughout the league.

“If you listen to our bench we are always yelling cut, cut, cut,” Malone said postgame. “If you cut, he will find you and there is a good chance that when he finds you that you’re going to get a layup.”

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It was the kind of game that can make basketball fans eager for more. Anybody watching that game should go to their calendars and circle the next time these two teams face off. The way that Jokic got all of his players involved and dominated, and the way that Karl-Anthony Towns controlled the game in all aspects will surely be anticipated when these two teams face off for years to come. Do I smell a rivalry brewing?