minneapolis– jaden mcdaniels decided to have a spectacular and emotional finale 112-96 game 4 win For minnesota timberwolves Late Saturday night with an uncontested transition layup with 1.3 seconds remaining.
denver nuggets star Nikola JokicStanding at the half-court line, expecting the clock to run out, he objected to McDaniels’ exclamation point and confronted him in front of the Timberwolves’ bench, provoking a skirmish that raised the temperature in an already heated playoff rivalry.
“The clock is still ticking,” McDaniels said. “So, I’m going to score.”
Joc sprinted across the floor, shrugged his shoulders and said something to McDaniel and pushed him to the side. McDaniels responded by grabbing Jokic’s jersey and pulling Jokic with him. Both of them ended up in a swamp pit.
“I don’t know what [Jokic] To be honest,” McDaniels said. “I just saw someone who was huge.”
Jokic and the Timberwolves were both ruled out due to the resulting review. julius randallWho entered the field and escalated the situation with some pushing and shoving before the timeout officially gave the Timberwolves a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference first round series.
“I don’t regret it,” Jokic said of McDaniels after the game. “Because he scored when everyone stopped playing.”
The league will certainly review the brawl and its aftermath before Monday night’s Game 5 in Denver, including whether any players on either side left the bench area. nuggets ahead Aaron GordonOut of the game at that time, ventured down the ledge towards the mixture of bodies.
“I didn’t like what McDaniels did,” Nuggets coach David Edelman said. “The game was over. The game was accepted. In 2026, that thing doesn’t happen anymore. It’s something that used to happen in the ’80s, where teams kept scoring. But it is what it is.”
McDaniels has become a central figure in the ongoing rivalry between the Timberwolves and Nuggets. After the Game 2 win in Denver, McDaniels roasted the Nuggets individually, calling out Jokic, Gordon, jamal mare And the other “bad defender”, a sound bite caused two days of irritation for the Nuggets.
When McDaniels was asked if he was on the Nuggets’ mind, he said, “I don’t know.” “I said what I said, and I just show up every night.”
It’s a frustrating time for Jokic and the Nuggets. They entered the series as favorites, winning Game 1 and leading by 19 points in the first half in Game 2.
But since then everything has turned upside down. Minnesota made a strong comeback to win in Game 2. Gordon injured his calf and missed Game 3; He tried to finish it off in Game 4, but was limited to 23 minutes and could barely get out of jogging.
Edelman said of Gordon, “It was unfair of me to put him there.” “I felt like he was really working hard in the first half.
“We have to decide [on his status] For Game 5.”
Without an effective Gordon and is already missing peyton watson – Denver’s other two-way wing – Due to a hamstring injury, the Nuggets have struggled to handle Minnesota’s length and activity.
But injuries hit the Timberwolves early in Game 4. starting guard donte divincenzo tore his Achilles tendon 79 seconds into the game, and Anthony Edwards His left knee gave out too much late in the second quarter, requiring assistance to get to the locker room.
DiVincenzo is out for the season. Edwards is going for an MRI to determine the severity, and his status is in doubt for the rest of this series. Without any of this, the Timberwolves trailed 54–50 at the half, threatening to cede home-court advantage to the Nuggets.
But the home team rallied. reserve guard Ayo DosunmuAcquired at trade deadline from Chicago Bulls The pick of four second-round picks, started the second half and finished with a career-high 43 points on 13-of-17 shooting. Dosunmu became the first player in history to go 3 of 5 on free throws and 10 of 10 on free throws in a playoff game.
“I didn’t know he was that good,” Randle said of Dosunmu. “I won’t lie to you. When I was in the East and he was in Chicago [on] They demar derozan And zach lavine Teams, I don’t know if the opportunity was that much or not. But damn, I’m glad we found him.”
Led by Dosunmu, the Timberwolves outscored Denver 62–42 in the second half as the Nuggets faded. Jokic finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, but was nearly silent in the fourth quarter, missing all six of his shots and turning the ball over twice.
“Average,” Jokic said when asked about the series performance.
The Nuggets have come back from being down 3-1 in the first series to beat them LA Clippers In the second round in 2020. The Timberwolves will likely be without their starting backcourt, and if necessary, in Denver for two of the final three games, starting on Monday night.
