Wolves' odd lineup combination might've been death blow in Game 4

What killed the Timberwolves in their Game 4 loss to the Nuggets?

The easy answer is the final 20 seconds of the first half that saw the Nuggets take advantage of two Minnesota turnovers and score eight points in the blink of an eye, taking a seven-point lead to 15 points when Jamal Murray sank a half-court heave at the buzzer. Minnesota woudn up losing by eight points – 115-107 – and those failed 20 seconds stick out like a sore thumb.

But the start of the second quarter might've been the more severe failure by Minnesota.

Why? Because the Timberwolves used a lineup combination that they hadn't used in any of their 82 regular season games and none of the previous seven playoff games. That five-man combo: Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Kyle Anderson.

Those five guys got outscored by 10 points in the span of 2 minutes, 21 seconds to start the second quarter, and Denver turned a five-point lead into a 15-point cushion and the Timberwolves never clawed all the way back.

What's worse is that Denver did that without Murray making a shot and Nikola Jokic on the bench.

Big point in the game last night: W/KAT struggling offensively, Wolves started 2nd w/Conley, NAW, Jaden, Kyle, Naz. Cleaning The Glass did not chart that combo one time in the regular season.

Nuggets went from +5 to +15 in 2:21. No Jokic on floor and Murray didn't make a shot.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) May 13, 2024

Why did the Wolves go with that five-man lineup? It could've been as simple as trying to spark the team after Denver finished the final eight minutes of the first quarter on a 20-9 run, a strong response after the Wolves opened the game with a 15-9 lead.

That 20-9 run blossomed into a 31-15 run and Denver found itself up by 16 points.

It was a similar outcome from the first quarter into the second quarter that Denver produced in Game 3, when they went from being tied 16-16 late in the first quarter to up by 20 points (45-25) midway through the second quarter.

The lineup Minnesota used to start the second quarter of Game 3 featured Conley, Alexander-Walker, McDaniels, Towns and Reid. The only difference was Towns on the bench and Anderson on the floor.

Anderson was on the floor for 13 minutes in Game 3 and the Wolves got outscored by 16 points in those minutes. In Game 4, Anderson playd 6:11 and the Wolves got smoked by 18 points in those minutes. Add it up and Anderson is a minus-34 in 19 minutes the past two games.

One way or another, the Nuggets have been lighting up the Wolves in the first and second quarters and it's been too much to overcome the past two games.

Game 5 is Tuesday in Denver, with tipoff expected around 9:40 p.m. CT.