Minnesota Timberwolves standout guard Anthony Edwards faces a multi-week absence following a left knee injury he sustained during Saturday evening’s 112-96 playoff victory over the Denver Nuggets.
According to ESPN reports, medical examinations on Sunday revealed Edwards suffered a bone bruise and knee hyperextension. Fortunately, imaging showed no ligament damage, and the star player is set to start rehabilitation right away.
The sixth-seeded Timberwolves currently hold a commanding 3-1 advantage over the third-seeded Nuggets in their best-of-seven playoff matchup, which continues Monday evening in Denver.
However, Minnesota faces significant challenges in finishing off the series.
Edwards’ backcourt partner Donte DiVincenzo also went down with a non-contact right leg injury just 79 seconds into Saturday’s contest. ESPN confirmed that DiVincenzo, who departed the arena in a wheelchair at halftime, suffered a torn right Achilles tendon that will sideline him for months.
With both starting guards unavailable, reserve player Ayo Dosunmu delivered an extraordinary performance off the bench Saturday, tallying 43 points on remarkable shooting: 13-of-17 from the floor, a perfect 5-for-5 beyond the arc, and 12-for-12 at the free-throw line.
OptaSTATS noted that Dosunmu made NBA history as the first player ever to score 40-plus points while shooting at least 75% from the field, making five or more three-pointers without a miss, and converting 10 or more free throws perfectly.
“This is for Ant. This is for Donte,” Dosunmu said in a post-game interview with Timberwolves social media. “I hope for a speedy recovery for them.”
Since joining Minnesota via trade deadline acquisition from Chicago, Dosunmu played 24 regular-season games and posted 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per contest. Throughout this playoff series, he’s leading the team with 22.8 points per game on 64% shooting.
Edwards paced the Timberwolves during the regular season with 28.8 points per game and connected on 39.9% of his three-point attempts across 61 games.
DiVincenzo started every game this season, contributing 12.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per outing.
Forward Julius Randle expressed confidence in his team’s ability to overcome the loss of both starting guards.
“We’ve got more than enough talent in here to win,” Randle stated after the game. “We lost two guys who are big pieces to our team but we talked about it all year, you need depth in the playoffs to win.”
