A hush fell over Target Center seconds after it was deafeningly loud.
Less than two minutes into Game 4 between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, Donte DiVincenzo collapsed out of nowhere. Jaden McDaniels tried to help him up. DiVincenzo told him not to and waved over Minnesota’s medical staff. He knew what it was. DiVincenzo had torn his Achilles tendon, a season-ending injury.
Fans cheered for DiVincenzo as he gingerly walked off the floor. But after the timeout, the crowd was subdued. DiVincenzo had started all 86 games the Wolves had played. He scored 15 points on 6 of 13 in Minnesota’s 113-96 Game 3 win, providing his team with the type of high-energy plays that proved invaluable for the Wolves this season.
In stepped Ayo Dosunmu to replace DiVincenzo.
The Timberwolves entered Game 4 with momentum, holding a 2-1 series lead. Denver couldn’t stop Minnesota’s downhill offense. But that momentum was stripped as DiVincenzo feverishly waved over the training staff. Dosunmu, who became the Wolves’ most valuable player at that moment, injected hope back into his team.
“He’s really a gamer,” Chris Finch said regarding Dosunmu after Minnesota’s 112-96 win in Game 4. “He’s met the moment since he’s gotten here. At the beginning of the series, you could see him try to feel his way through it. And, obviously, in Game 3, his aggressiveness came out. He just kept with it.”
Tim Connelly swung for Dosunmu at the deadline — moving Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and four second-round picks — to add scoring off Minnesota’s bench. Dosunmu was averaging 15 points this season in Chicago on 43.9% from three. The Wolves knew he would be an important part of their playoff hopes. But when Connley picked up the phone with Chicago, he never could have predicted how vital Dosunmu would become roughly two months later.
Late in the second quarter, Anthony Edwards landed hard on his left leg, immediately hobbling him on the court as he clutched his left knee in pain. Edwards missed 11 of the final 14 regular-season games with a right knee injury. Now, his left knee injury forced him to hop on his right knee back to Minnesota’s locker room.
The Wolves trailed by three. But at that moment, Target Center sounded like they were in the middle of watching a blowout that was never competitive.
“I thought the key was just hanging in there until we got to halftime,” Finch said. “Kind of reset things. Figure out what we have and who we have going forward … The mood [at halftime] was a little somber with the guys that were out.”
Finch choked up after the game while talking about DiVincenzo’s injury. Everyone could feel the weight of Minnesota’s wounds at halftime inside and out of the locker room.
“I know, I know,” in-arena host Jon Berry said over the loudspeaker after the intermission, trying to console anxious fans as they settled back into their seats.
Still, Minnesota trailed by four at halftime. A 3-1 series lead was still obtainable. But would the Wolves have the firepower and mental resilience to reach out and grab it? Dosunmu, who sat with a game-high 16 points at halftime, took the heavy moment upon himself, flipping it somber energy into a scintillating win.
Denver shot 12 free throws in the third quarter, during which the officials called the Timberwolves for 10 fouls. Minnesota’s collective annoyance with the whistle was growing, and they lost their challenge in the first half. The Nuggets had built a 7-point lead in the third. Still, Dosunmu responded with 12 points, sparking the Wolves to outscore Denver 32-24 in the quarter and build a four-point lead entering the fourth.
As Dosunmu drilled two free throws late in the third, “M-V-P” murmurs in the crowd grew into a full-on chant. The 6’4″ guard — playing in his ninth career playoff game — was up to 28 points on the night. He was shooting 8 of 10 from the floor and operating with an elite combination of precision, command, speed, and maturity.
The intangibles that Minnesota lacks without DiVincenzo and Edwards.
“It was incredible watching him, what he did on the offensive end,” Julius Randle said after the game. “But defensively, too.”
Even in the face of a tight whistle and tough Nuggets shot-making, Minnesota’s defense wore Denver down. The Nuggets shot 3 of 16 from the floor in the fourth and 1 of 8 from deep with five turnovers.
And with 1:30 left, Dosunmu delivered the knockout blow — a 27-foot pull-up three-pointer to give the Wolves a 12-point lead.
It was the type of deafeningly loud clutch moment that seemed unlikely to happen as DiVIncenzo lay on the floor in the first quarter. The odds of that moment happening were then slim to none when Edwards hopped back to the locker room late in the second quarter, never to return to the game.
But Minnesota’s MVP — the player who has only been here for two months — provided the on-ball scoring and shot creation that delivered the Wolves a 3-1 lead.
“Entering flow state,” Dosunmu said postgame. “I always try to tell myself just ‘enter flow state.’ That’s a space where I am just trusting in the Lord, trusting the energy, trusting my teammates, and I am just out there playing. Flowing.”
Dosunmu took four free throws late in the game. By that time, the “M-V-P” chants were deafening. He laced in all of them, bringing his scoring total up to 43 points, notching the most points he has ever scored in an NBA game.
He did it by shooting 13 of 17 (76.5%) from the floor, 12 of 12 from the free throw line, and 5 of 5 from three-point range. Dosunmu became the first player in NBA history to score 40 or more points, shoot 75% or better from the floor, make five or more threes without a miss, and make 10 or more free throws without a miss.
“I’m not going to lie, it ranks No. 1,” Dosunmu said regarding where his Game 4 performance ranks in his basketball career. “The magnitude. Just being in the playoffs. I would say that alone ranks No. 1.”
DiVincenzo will miss the rest of the season. We are still waiting on Edwards’ timetable. Even if he doesn’t miss extended time, Dosunmu will be starting. The Wolves need him to play with the same “flow state” mindset he had in Game 4. Dosunmu doesn’t need to put up MVP-level stat lines. Still, he needs the ball in his hands frequently and to operate like he knows he is the linchpin for how far the Wolves go in the playoffs.
Those chants Saturday were not simply fans praising an unsuspecting player for an unsuspecting performance. Those chants echoed the truth — Dosunmu is this team’s most valuable player moving forward.
