Column: The Wolves In The NBA Tournament

Round 1 vs. the Nuggets

The Timberwolves and Nuggets have developed an intense rivalry after meeting in the playoffs three times over the past four years. This series was very entertaining, especially when Nuggets star player Nikola Jokic lost his cool in (several) games.

Final Scores

Game 1 (Away) - Loss (105 - 116)

Game 2 (Away)- Win (119 - 114)

Game 3 (Home) - Win (113 - 96)

Game 4 (Home) - Win (112 - 96)

Game 5 (Away) - Loss (113 - 125)

Game 6 (Home) - Round-ending win (110 - 98)

Key players

Ayo Dosunmu played exceptionally in Game 4, perfect on three-pointers and free throws, dropping a daunting 43 points. This is crazy, especially coming from a bench player.

Jaden McDaniels was the icon of this series. After Game 2, in an interview, he boldly said that all the Nuggets players are “bad defenders”. He backed up his talk with great play, recording 32 points - his career-high in the playoffs - in game 6 when Ant, Donte, and Ayo were sidelined because of injuries.

Fights

In Game 4, there was a huge fight because Jaden McDaniels scored a layup, even though the Wolves were up 14 points and the game was practically over with 1 second left of playing time. Jokic got very upset and started a fight. He got fined $50K, and Julius Randle got fined $35K.

In Game 6, there was a shoving match after Jalen Clark gave Jokic a friendly push, and Jokic escalated the situation and shoved Clark to the ground.

Throughout the whole series, there were lots of minor scuffles, almost always centering around Nikola Jokic.

Injuries

Donte DiVincenzo ruptured his Achilles tendon in Game 4, which ended his season. He’ll have to miss all of the 2026-27 season as well.

Anthony Edwards sustained a left knee injury - his better knee - after struggling the latter half of the season with a right knee injury. Ant missed most of game 4 and wasn’t able to play games 5 and 6.

Kyle Anderson missed game 6 due to illness.

Ayo Dosunmu had a sore calf before game 6, and missed the last game of the Nuggets series and the first game of the Spurs series.

Round 2 vs. the Spurs

Final Scores

Game 1 (Away) - Win (104 - 102)

Game 2 (Away) - Loss (95 - 133)

Game 3 (Home) - Loss (108 - 115)

Game 4 (Home) - Win (114 - 109)

Game 5 (Away) - Loss (97 - 126)

Game 6 (Home) - Season-ending loss (109 - 139)

Key Players

Anthony Edwards dominated this series, even though he was playing on two injured knees. He recorded an incredible double-double in Game 3 with 32 points and 14 rebounds. In Game 4, he dropped 36 points, including 16 points from the 4th quarter. He averaged 21 points per game in the 6-game series.

In Game 6, Terrence Shannon Jr. was a bright spot on the losing team, recording 21 points in 22 minutes off the bench. TJ was putting in effort when it seemed many players had given up. He effectively navigated the paint to score quick layups.

Wemby

Victor Wembenyama is the NBA’s golden boy, and it showed in this series. The refs gave him the benefit of the doubt on many goaltends, crediting him with blocks instead of fouls.

Over the course of the series, Wemby seemed to exaggerate his falls, which would usually result in a trip to the free-throw line. In Game 6, after Julius Randle barely touched him, Wembenyama dramatically flopped to the ground to get free throws. This is questionable because Wemby has made multiple comments against flopping and likes to play “ethical basketball.”

In Game 4, Wemby elbowed Naz Reid in the throat, leading to an ejection. However, he didn’t get suspended or fined for his flagrant foul. Many think that Wembenyama got off the hook this time because of his stardom.