Donte DiVincenzo Tears Achilles & Anthony Edwards Ruled Out As Jokic Ends Game In Near-Brawl, Social Media Reacts
Saturday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves went up 3-1 in the NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, but it was a bittersweet win.
Saturday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves went up 3-1 in the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, but it was a bittersweet win.
It started barely 90 seconds into the game when Wolves star Donte DiVincenzo shot a three-pointer, and when he realized it was a brick, he started to close in for a possible rebound.
However, when he took off and took a step back, he planted his right foot behind him before immediately dropping to the court in pain.
He winced while grabbing at his leg, and after the medical staff came over, he walked to the locker room on his own.
But that silver lining didn’t last long, because at halftime the broadcast showed him in a leg splint being rolled around in a wheelchair.
Then, towards the end of the second quarter, there was another night-altering injury when the Nuggets were up 44-39.
Cameron Johnson drove into the paint for a layup, when Anthony Edwards went up to contest it. When he came down, he landed solely on his left leg and hyperextended it.
Edwards went down, grabbing his left knee, grimacing as well, and had to be helped off the court.
But even with their two best players out for the entirety of the second half, the Wolves had an unlikely breakout star in Ayo Dosunmu, who went off for 43 points, going 5 for 5 at three point range, and hitting all 12 of his free throws.
He pushed the Wolves to a 112-96 win, but the night took another turn with 1.3 seconds left, and Mike Conley passed it ahead to Jaden McDaniels. While most would dribble it out, McDaniels took the uncontested layup, prompting a peeved Nikola Jokic to run down the court and starting mouthing off as they stood chest to chest when McDaniels grabbed him by the jersey.
Benched cleared, and the night ended with Jokic and Julius Randle, who escalated the fight with some thrown elbows, getting ejected.
“Clock still be running,” McDaniels said after the game. “So I’m going to go score.”
“I don’t know what [Jokic] said, to be honest,” McDaniels said. “I just seen someone who was big as hell.”
After the game, ESPN confirmed that DiVincenzo suffered a season-ending Achilles tear, and Edwards’ bone bruise and hyperextension of his left knee mean he’ll miss a few weeks.
So the Wolves may be up 3-1, but even if they manage to close out the series, they’ll have to find a way to beat the winner of the Blazers/ Spurs series without them as well.
See social media’s reaction to the night’s events below.
