The Timberwolves defeat the Nuggets, 112-96, to claim a 3-1 series lead.
Under normal circumstances, the Denver Nuggets might have found balance to their current series plight – down 3-1 against Minnesota – in an equally distressing predicament for the Timberwolves.
Sure, the Nuggets lost another game, 112-96, and find themselves on the brink of elimination from the 2026 Western Conference playoffs. But Minnesota lost its starting backcourt to injuries in the second quarter that could hobble its postseason ambitions sooner than might seem fair.
The trouble Saturday at Target Center was, the Wolves found a ready replacement in Ayo Dosunmu, a mid-season pick-up who scored like Anthony Edwards, one of their lost guards. Dosunmu lit up the Nuggets, the scoreboard and the arena for 43 points to grab the spotlight and keep some hope alive in Minnesota.
Hope will come harder now in Denver. Trailing 3-1 in a best-of-seven series almost assures elimination – only 4.4% of the 298 teams that have fallen into that hole ever climbed out. And now the Nuggets can’t even rely on their opponents’ shorthandedness to help.
“We’ve got more than enough talent in here to win,” Wolves forward Julius Randle said. “We lost two guys who are big pieces to our team but we talked about it all year, you need depth in the playoffs to win.”
The Nuggets are shorthanded (Peyton Watson), aching (Aaron Gordon), misfiring, undersized and tired of facing this Minnesota team. It’s a rough way to stage a comeback, though they’ll try in Game 5 Monday night at Ball Arena (10:30 ET, NBA/Peacock).
Here are four takeaways from Game 4 that have Denver within 48 minutes of the offseason:
1. The ‘Ayo game’
No one in NBA nation (outside of Minnesota, anyway) should be happier about Ayo Dosunmu’s sparkling night Saturday than Chicago forward Patrick Williams. Williams, an underachiever ever since he was drafted fourth in 2020 by Chicago, had long been the poster guy for poor personnel decisions by the Bulls’ recently terminated front office execs.
Well, there’s a new gold standard now: Trading Dosunmu to the Wolves in February took all the onus off Williams with his unexpected star turn off the bench.
A native of Chicago whose University of Illinois roots made him a favorite at United Center, Dosunmu was valued by Minnesota for his two-way play and energy, capable of stepping into the role Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who left in a sign-and-trade deal last summer.
Whatever expectations his new team had, Dosunmu exceeded them by scoring 43 points to lead the Wolves to their Game 4 victory. He shot 13-for-17, hit all five of his 3-pointers and went 12-for-12 from the foul line. Best of all, he provided an irrepressibly upbeat story to a night that otherwise would have been dour, given significant injuries to teammates Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo.
GOOOOOOODNIGHT. 😴 pic.twitter.com/Rue8xz60k8
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 26, 2026
As he had done in Game 3 (25 points), Dosunmu shredded the Nuggets’ interior defense when he wasn’t scoring over it from the arc. He has proven to be one of the league’s best acquisitions at the trade deadline, and has earned a happy spring after another drab fall and winter in Chicago.
“I won’t take this one for granted. Because I understand how long and how hard it is to get here,” Dosunmu said. “I’m enjoying it, I’m blessed and I give all the credit to Jesus Christ.”
He also pledged his performance to Edwards and DiVincenzo, while calling it the best of his basketball life. “I’m just living in the moment. Having fun,” he said. “I’m competing with my teammates each and every possession, doing whatever it takes to help my team win.”
His scoring outburst sent folks scurrying to the record books to learn that Dosunmu joined only Edwards and Sam Cassell as Wolves who scored 40+ points in a playoff game. The NBA determined that his 43 points were the second-most by a reserve in a playoff game – Seattle’s (Downtown) Fred Brown had 45 in a May 1976 clash with Phoenix.
The impact of Ayo’s scoring – beyond becoming an instant folk hero in the Twin Cities – was how it made up not just for the injured starting backcourt but surpassed the starters entirely (36). Minnesota’s bench scored nearly as much as Denver’s starters, 80-76, on a night when Jokić and Murray were pretty good.
Said coach Chris Finch: “We were just going to ride him till he collapsed, really.”
2. Waiting for updates on Edwards, DiVincenzo
The last thing the Wolves want is a Pyrrhic victory in which they win a game but lose people to injury and potentially their shot at a long playoff run.
The news already was rotten on DiVincenzo, with ESPN reporting that he had torn his left Achilles tendon with a seemingly innocent step in the second quarter. The feisty guard from Villanova had been a dirty-jobs guy, pesky defender and 3-point outlet, as well as a popular teammate. He’ll face surgery and a long rehab now, this postseason over for him.
Edwards appeared to hyperextend his left knee later that period when he landed with all his weight on one leg, defending against Cam Johnson at the rim. He pounded the floor in frustration or pain and was helped by teammates to the locker room.
If his team could close out Denver in this series soon, the Wolves would root for San Antonio-Portland to go as long as possible to buy Edwards’ maximum healing time. More info is likely Sunday.
3. Offense after halftime doomed Denver
Nuggets coach David Adelman bristled when reporters questioned his team’s effort and defense after the game. “I think it’s hilarious, the narrative is that offense doesn’t matter. You shoot 24% in the second half, it’s hard to win,” he said.
Overly reliant on Jokić and Murray, Denver got outscored 62-42 in the second half. The 3-point shots that are so important in creating space, opening passes lanes and stressing the other team’s defensive rotations were mostly misfires: 2-for-13 in the half, 1-for-8 in the fourth quarter. They’ve been a problem all series.
And after a sterling job of caring for the ball in the first half, Denver turned it over nine times in the second, which the Wolves turned into 13 easy points.
“Not setting screens, not getting guys open,” Jokić said. “They play some good defense, they have an effect on that too. Passes not on target.”
4. McDaniels vs. NBA conventions, Pt. II
One thing coaches hate in the playoffs is for one of their players to get brash in his comments between and after games, lest he poke the proverbial bear and spark serious pushback on the court. Another thing is to do something that might anger the basketball gods, violating an unwritten law that might similarly motivate an opponent they have to face game after game in a series.
Hold my beer twice, said Wolves forward Jaden McDaniels.
After calling the Nuggets “bad defenders” after Game 2, naming names and surprisingly paying no apparent price for it, McDaniels thumbed his nose again at NBA protocol near the end of Game 4. As the final seconds ticked off, Denver conceding the defeat, McDaniels wound up alone in the frontcourt with the ball and – uh-oh – dribbled in for a layup. It was unnecessary, it was meaningless, the two points didn’t matter.
Except to Jokić. Denver’s MVP sprinted directly to McDaniels, barking at him and giving a two-handed shove. McDaniels smiled slightly as he grabbed the shoulder straps of Jokić’s jersey. By that point, they were right at the Minnesota bench and players and coaches flooded the sideline. Jokić and Randle (not McDaniels) were called for technical fouls in the ruckus. Anything beyond that will have to come from the NBA when it reviews the rancor.
Which, at this point, should be expected. These teams have butted heads 32 times over the past four years, regular season and playoffs. Minnesota is up 17-15, for the record.
“These teams don’t like each other. It isn’t any secret,” Finch said. “You play each other this many times with so much at stake. Even the Christmas Day game is a battle. … There’s familiarity, there’s deep respect but there’s also incredible competitive fire there in both teams.”
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
