MINNEAPOLIS — Jaden McDaniels decided to cap off a resounding and emotional 112-96 Game 4 win for the Minnesota Timberwolves late Saturday night with an uncontested transition layup with 1.3 seconds left.
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, standing at the half-court line expecting the clock to expire, took exception to McDaniels’ exclamation point and confronted him in front of the Timberwolves bench, inciting a skirmish that spiked the temperature in an already heated playoff rivalry.
“Clock still be running,” McDaniels said. “So, I’m going to go score.”
Jokic sprinted across the floor, said something to McDaniels with a shrug and pushed him toward the sideline. McDaniels responded by grabbing Jokic’s jersey and dragging him with him. The two ended up in a mosh pit.
“I don’t know what [Jokic] said, to be honest,” McDaniels said. “I just seen someone who was big as hell.”
The resulting review led to ejections for both Jokic and Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, who entered the fray and escalated the situation with some shoves before the clock finally expired to officially give the Timberwolves a 3-1 series lead.
“I don’t regret it,” Jokic said postgame. “Because he scored after everybody stopped playing.”
The league will assuredly review the altercation and aftermath prior to Monday night’s Game 5 in Denver, including whether any players left the bench area on either side. Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, out of the game at the time, did venture down the sideline toward the mix of bodies.
“I didn’t like what McDaniels did,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “The game was over. The game was conceded. In 2026, that stuff just doesn’t happen anymore. That’s something that happens in the ’80s, where teams would continue to score. But that’s who he is.”
McDaniels has become a central figure in the brewing rivalry between the Timberwolves and Nuggets. After a Game 2 road win in Denver, McDaniels roasted the Nuggets individually, calling Jokic, Gordon, Jamal Murray and others “bad defenders,” a soundbite that generated a two-day annoyance for the Nuggets.
“I don’t know,” McDaniels said when asked if he was in Denver’s heads. “I said what I said, and I just come hoop every night.”
This is a frustrating time for Jokic and the Nuggets. They entered the series as favorites, ran away with a Game 1 win and built a 19-point first half Game 2 lead.
But everything has flipped since. Minnesota roared back for a Game 2 win. Gordon injured his calf and missed Game 3. He tried to gut it out in Game 4, but was limited to 23 minutes and could barely break out of a jog.
“It was unfair for me to keep him out there,” Adelman said. “I felt like he was really laboring in the first half. … We’re going to have to decide (on his status) for Game 5.”
Without an effective Gordon and already missing their other two-way wing, Peyton Watson, because of a hamstring injury, the Nuggets have struggled to handle Minnesota’s length and activity.
But injury struck the Timberwolves early in Game 4. Starting guard Donte DiVincenzo tore his Achilles 79 seconds into the game and Anthony Edwards hyperextended his left knee late in the second quarter, needing assistance to get to the locker room.
DiVincenzo is out for the season. Edwards is heading for an MRI to determine severity and his status for the rest of this series is in doubt. Without either, the Timberwolves trailed 54-50 at half, in danger of giving homecourt advantage back to the Nuggets.
But the home team rallied. Reserve guard Ayo Dosunmu, acquired at the trade deadline from Chicago for four second round picks, started the second half and detonated into a career-night, finishing with 43 points on 13 of 17 shooting. Dosunmu became the first player in history to go 5 of 5 on 3s and 10 of 10 on free throws in a playoff game.
“I didn’t know he was that damn good,” Randle said of Dosunmu. “I ain’t gonna lie to you. When I was in the East and he was in Chicago [on] those DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine teams, I don’t know if the opportunity was there as much. But damn, I’m glad we got him.”
Led by Dosunmu, the Timberwolves outscored the Nuggets 62-42 in the second half as the Nuggets faded. Jokic finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, but was nearly silent in the fourth quarter, missing all six of his shots and turning it over twice.
“Average,” Jokic said when asked about his series performance.
The Nuggets have emerged from a 3-1 series deficit before, coming back to beat the Clippers in the second round back in 2020. The Timberwolves will likely be without their starting backcourt and two of the final three games, if necessary, are in Denver, beginning Monday night.
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