It wouldn’t be the playoffs if the Timberwolves didn’t miraculously blow a double-digit lead late in the fourth quarter, as they did Sunday.
And yet, they still managed to force a Game 5 on Tuesday in Denver.
After surrendering a 12-0 Denver run in the final 2 minutes, 40 seconds of regulation, Minnesota responded in overtime to defeat the top-seeded Nuggets 114-108 at Target Center.
It was a wild ending to what was a lifeless contest for much of the night. The Target Center in-arena announcers were asking — begging, really — those in attendance to make some semblance of noise in the second half of Game 4 on Sunday.
Denver was starting to pull away in the middle of a sluggish contest that, frankly, hadn’t provided much for anyone to cheer about. A pair of Nikola Jokic triples put Denver up by nine in the middle of the third quarter.
Everyone in the building seemed resigned to the idea that the series was going to conclude in a 4-0 sweep.
But Anthony Edwards had something to say about that. The 21-year-old decided he was not quite ready for his second career playoff series to be over just yet.
Edwards went nuclear in the third frame, attacking the rim with reckless abandon while burying a couple triples to bring the arena, and his team, to life. He finished with 16 points and a pair of assists in a quarter. Minnesota responded in kind, claiming a seven-point lead heading to the final frame.
“I know my team. I know they’re counting on me to pick us up. That’s just what I do,” Edwards said. “I feel like in those moments, that’s when I come alive the most is when we go down.”
Minnesota’s lead grew to as big as 12 in the fourth quarter with fewer than three minutes to play before Denver went on a frantic rally to nearly steal the contest. The Nuggets went on an 12-0 run that featured six Jokic points and a pair of Michael Porter Jr. triples to knot the contest with 12.7 seconds to play.
Jokic, finished with 43 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, actually had a chance to put Denver in front at the free-throw line late, but only split his free-throws to tie the contest.
“I’m not gonna lie, I was like, ‘How the hell? How did that happen?’” Mike Conley said of the Wolves’ late-game collapse.
Welcome to Minnesota, Mike!
Edwards had a chance to win the game in regulation, but didn’t get off a shot, instead turning the ball over.
He made up for it in the extra session.
Denver had trimmed a seven-point Wolves’ overtime lead to one with 30 seconds to play, and Minnesota was again on the rocks. But Edwards finally put an end to the madness with a triple with 11 seconds to play.
“I wasn’t passing the ball. I was taking the shot. I was going to live with whether I lost us the game or we won,” Edwards said. “I ended up hitting the shot.”
The guard finished with 34 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Timberwolves fans busted into a “Wolves in 7” chant at the end of overtime. That probably won’t happen, but it sounded a lot better to the Minnesota faithful than the “Denver in 4” fate the team narrowly avoided Sunday.
“We show grit, we show grit. It’s weird, when our backs are against the wall, we seem to find a way to get a win,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 17 points and 11 boards before fouling out in overtime. “It’s great that we got it tonight, and we gotta do it three more times.”
BRIEFLY
Kyle Anderson left the game in the third quarter after Edwards inadvertently smacked him in the eye. Anderson did not return, and Timberwolves coach Chris Finch confirmed Anderson saw an eye specialist. His status for Game 5 is undetermined.
