Anthony Edwards saves the night as Wolves avoid Denver sweep
After an epic meltdown helped the Nuggets force overtime, Anthony Edwards put the Timberwolves on his back with a 3-pointer to give Minnesota a four-point lead with 11 seconds left.
Edwards finished with 34 points to lead Minnesota the 114-108 win and give the Wolves at least one more breath in Game 5 Tuesday night in Denver. The Nuggets lead the best-of-seven series three games to one.
Edwards' long jumper put Minnesota up 96-84 with 2:52 to play before a meltdown ensued. Denver called a timeout and then starting throwing haymakers, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers – one by Nikola Jokic and two by Michael Porter Jr. – followed by a reach-in foul on Karl-Anthony Towns that allowed Denver to tie the game at 96-96 with 12.7 seconds to go.
Jokic, who finished with 43 points, assisted or scored on all 12 points.
In overtime, Towns fouled out with 2:56 remaining and he got a huge pick-me-up from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who buried a pair of 3s and took a charge. He finished with eight points on the night.
As has been the case this series, it was a tale of two halves for Minnesota.
"One team should be playing with desperation and they're not. Because they're soft," said Charles Barkley during the halftime show on TNT. "The crowd's ready to go home, like 'we don't want to watch this crap anymore.'"
Minnesota jumped out to an early eight-point lead before missed layups and 3-pointers turned the tide. The lead evaporated and Denver slowly pulled away, taking a four-point lead into the half – a half in which the Wolves shot just 36% to keep the home crowd quiet.
"It's like a scrimmage," said Barkley. "Minnesota wants to quit.
Denver opened the lead to nine points after two 3s by Jokic midway through the third before Minnesota charged back and ended the quarter on a 25-10 run – on the back of 16 points from Edwards – to take an 80-74 lead into the fourth.
The Wolves continued to push until the final 2:52 when Denver closed regulation on a 12-0 run.
Mike Conley scored 19 points and had eight assists for Minnesota. Towns finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out. He made just 1 of 6 shots in the second half. Rudy Gobert finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Game 5 is set to begin just after 8 p.m. Tuesday in Denver.
Note: Kyle Anderson left the game with a left eye injury. His status for Game 5 is unknown.
