Nikola Jokic accepted blame for the Denver Nuggets' dramatic collapse to the Minnesota Timberwolves, whose late surge saw them win 119-116.

Jokic's contribution of 26 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds put Denver up 116-109, after he had scored two free throws with two minutes and 30 seconds left.

But the visitors surmounted a comeback, and the Serbian missed the chance to bring the scores level at 119-119 with 2.3 seconds left on the clock.

The result leaves the Nuggets languishing near the bottom of the Western Conference with just two wins from their opening five matches, and Jokic took responsibility for his poor showing.

"We had 10 or eight points in the last, I don't know how many minutes. We didn't execute, I missed basically all of my shots in the last two or three minutes," he reflected.

"They scored easily, they had open looks. This defeat is on me. I need to do a better job of getting guys involved.

"Today, I didn't do a good job. I had a turnover, I missed two turnaround jumpers, so it was a bad sequence for me."

The Nuggets had started to put a run of form together with wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors in their previous two matches, but will now face Utah Jazz feeling they need a win now more than ever.

The Timberwolves will be leaving far happier, with Anthony Edwards scoring 29 points during the victory. The guard credited the rivalry between the two teams for the grandstand finish.

"They know when they see us, they don't like us, and I'm pretty sure they know we don't like them,” Edwards said. "It's always a great game. I love going against those guys. Plus, they have got the best player in the league, so I look forward to it."