Saturday night in Minnesota was a lot.

Ayo Dosunmu’s star turn was unexpected, but there he was carrying the Timberwolves on his back without two of their best players. With Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo both ruled out, Dosunmu went off for a career-high 43 points off the bench. The Wolves gutted it out for a 112-96 win and now the Denver Nuggets are staring down elimination.

Let’s get to some takeaways.

AYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!?!?!?! 

Based on my (quick) research, coming in to Saturday night there had been three players who scored 40+ points in the playoffs coming off the bench. Downtown Freddie Brown had 45 points for the Seattle Supersonics in the 1976 Western Conference finals. Nick Van Exel had 40 points for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2003 Western Conference semifinals. Stephen Curry had 40 points off a four game absence against the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2016 Western Conference semifinals. 

It’s time to add Ayo Dosunmu to the list. That’s right, Ayo Dosunmu. 

It was one thing in Game 3 when he was able to find a level of aggression, to mix in drives to punish the Denver Nuggets defense. It’s another thing in this game where, with the absence of both Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards (prayers up), they needed every single one of his buckets: 13 of 17 from the field, 5 of 5 from 3, 12 of 12 from the line, an incredible career-making moment. His command and control, pushing the pace for Minnesota, attacking the space of Nikola Jokić’s drop. If it was 1v1, he was getting in the paint. If you cut him off, he was letting it fly. It was the pullups, it was the floaters, it was the paint touches but it was the total comfort he displayed. Twenty-seven of his 43 points came in the second half when both Donte and Ant were ruled out. 

To put it in perspective, in the second half, Jokić/Murray combined for 27. That’s what Ayo did by himself 

Dosunmu now becomes the third Minnesota Timberwolves player to score 40 or more in a playoff game (Anthony Edwards, Sam Cassell) and they needed every single bucket to pull this one out. 

Minnesota gutted this one out 

In all of the hoopla of the Timberwolves pulling this out, it’s easy to lose context of the game. They lost DiVincenzo early and then had to roll in the mud with Denver. They then got the added blow of losing Anthony Edwards late in the second quarter. Despite that, their bench had held them down. Ayo’s antics were evident but the Timberwolves had gotten 36 of their 50 points off the bench. They lost their main pressure point, they had to deal with Jaden McDaniels navigating foul trouble. 

They also had to deal with the Nuggets returning to form. 

The defense from Minnesota was lights out in Game 3, and the effort was there early in Game 4 but the Nuggets were game to respond. Jokić and Jamal Murray combined to shoot 12 for 23 in the first half with a combined 11 assists. At the half, Denver had 24 made field goals and 18 assists with 32 of their 54 points. The Nuggets were able to reestablish their stars as scoring options but as pressure points to unlock their offense. 

And then the second half happened. And the Timberwolves defense kept fighting, scratching, clawing to get any sort of stop they could. Ball pressure, activity, help defense, connectivity, working to turn stops into points. A true team effort to try to find a way to win a game. As much as the Nuggets put back on the table in the first half, the Wolves worked to take it away. Denver shot 9 of 37 from the field in the second half with a total of 3 assists. All of those assists came from Jokić/Murray, who, by the way, shot 6 of 24, a return to the nightmare of Game 3. 

Naz Reid came up huge with timely baskets for Minnesota, attacking Jokić’s drop coverage in pick and roll. Julius Randle’s box score isn’t jumping off the page but what he did at the start of the third was very important. He put his head down, he attacked and he scored. The irony is those buckets led to Jokić helping on a drive which opened up a 3 for (checks notes) you guessed it, Dosunmu. 

Everything about playoff basketball is a back and forth and what may feel like a mountain could end up being a decent hike. 

Where, oh where, do the Nuggets go from here? 

The Nuggets find themselves on the brink of elimination. What is the answer for them? Their defense was lights out in Game 1 but has not found its consistency since. Jokić and Murray have had their high points but have also struggled. A chicken and the egg scenario needing to win three straight games is not ideal. Jokić/Murray established the tone in the first half but ended up struggling the second half. The defense felt more focused but still gave up openings to non Anthony Edwards players. Can they refocus and reestablish their winning formula one game at a time or is this a steel cage match where the Wolves walk out of the front door?