Anthony Edwards Out Multiple Weeks After Knee Injury in Timberwolves' Playoff Win

Minnesota's star guard Anthony Edwards is sidelined for "multiple weeks" after suffering a left knee injury Saturday night during the Timberwolves' 112-96 playoff victory over Denver. The diagnosis came back Sunday: bone bruise and hyperextension. Good news is there's no ligament damage, but Edwards is starting rehab immediately. The No. 6 seeded Timberwolves already hold a 3-1 series lead over the No. 3 Nuggets, with Game 5 happening Monday night in Denver.

Minnesota's Backcourt Just Fell Apart

This gets worse. Donte DiVincenzo, Edwards' backcourt partner, suffered a non-contact right leg injury just 79 seconds into Saturday's game. He left the arena at halftime in a wheelchair with a torn right Achilles, which will knock him out for several months. The Timberwolves just lost both starting guards at the worst possible time.

Ayo Dosunmu Had an Absolutely Insane Night

Here's the wild part: backup guard Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench Saturday and went absolutely nuclear. He dropped 43 points on 13-of-17 shooting, went 5-for-5 from three, and a perfect 12-for-12 from the line. According to OptaSTATS, Dosunmu became the first player in NBA history to score at least 40 points, shoot at least 75% from the field, make at least five three-pointers without missing, and convert at least 10 free throws without missing. "This is for Ant. This is for Donte," Dosunmu told Timberwolves social media after the game, hoping for speedy recoveries. Since getting acquired at the trade deadline from Chicago, Dosunmu averaged 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists over 24 regular-season games. In this playoff series, he's posting a team-high 22.8 points per game while shooting 64% from the field.

Can Minnesota Actually Close This Out?

Edwards was putting up 28.8 points per game during the regular season and hitting 39.9% of his threes over 61 games. DiVincenzo started all 82 regular-season games with 12.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per night. Forward Julius Randle said postgame the Timberwolves can survive losing both guys. "We've got more than enough talent in here to win," Randle said. "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." Minnesota's got the series lead and a bench piece playing out of his mind. Now let's see if it's actually enough.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.