The Minnesota Timberwolves won Game 4 of their series with the Denver Nuggets, 112-96 Saturday night, but suffered some critical injuries during the win.
Star guard Anthony Edwards exited the game with a left knee injury, while shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo’s season is over after suffering a torn right Achilles, per ESPN.
Edwards was helped to the locker room after an apparent left knee injury with 2:43 left in the second quarter. He was injured landing after a contested layup, had to be helped to the locker room, and was immediately ruled out for the remainder of the game.
“Losing those two guys is really tough, tough emotionally for our guys,” head coach Chris Finch told reporters, per The Associated Press.
Dr. Evan Jeffries, who identifies himself as a Doctor of Physical Therapy and NBA & NFL Injury Insider, wrote of the injury on X/Twitter that the “worst case scenario” for Edwards is an ACL tear, while the “best case scenario” is a “bone bruise/joint capsule injury.”
Donte DiVincenzo also suffered a torn Achilles during the win that was fueled by Ayo Dosunmu’s 43 points, including a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc.
“I feel completely devastated for Donte,” Finch said after his team took a 3-1 series lead.
DiVincenzo appeared to injure his lower right leg in the game’s opening minutes when he slipped to the court as he raced to chase a ball. He immediately waved to the bench for help and put little to no weight on his right foot as he was helped to the locker room, and he eventually left the arena in a wheelchair.
Edwards came into Saturday averaging 23 points and eight rebounds in the series, as the sixth-seeded Timberwolves look to upset the third-seeded Nuggets. DiVincenzo averaged 14.3 points and made 11 of 22 three-pointers in the first three games.
“I was heartbroken,” Dosunmu said in the televised on-court postgame interview when asked about the injuries to DiVincenzo and Edwards. “This is for them. Ant, Donte, they mean so much to the organization. I’m sending them prayers. I hope for a speedy recovery. I hope they’re fine, but this game, personally, was for them.”
Said forward Julius Randle: “We you lose two guys that are big pieces to our team, but we talk about it all year. We need depth in the playoffs and we have that obviously. So we knew that we had more than enough to win.”
(The AP contributed reporting)
