Nuggets fans are facing a scenario they never imagined when the season began, and it's time for full-on panic mode after the Nuggets' 112-96 Game 4 collapse to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Nuggets go down 3-1 in the best-of-seven first-round series, and an early exit is on the table.
The Game 4 collapse started in the third quarter with a "commentator" jinx. Tim Legler on the broadcast said the Nuggets had only one turnover thus far, midway through the third quarter. Two plays and two turnovers later, the lead was cut to one, and the momentum shifted. Three minutes later, two more turnovers on consecutive trips down the court had given the Timberwolves a four-point lead they'd never relinquish.
Turnovers have been a problem at times this season for Jokic, and his second of the game, fourth of the sequence, led to a Julius Randle dunk that got the home crowd loud.
Rim protection was non-existent in the second half
The Nuggets haven't been a good rim-protecting team for much of the season, and they have allowed the most points in the paint of any playoff team coming into Game 4. They got blitzed again.
The Nuggets allowed too many layups and dunks in the second half after a good first half, and the Timberwolves still managed 54 points in the paint. The Timberwolves didn't attack the Nuggets in the first half, but as soon as they did in the second half, the tide changed, and the biggest benefactor was Ayo Dosunmu.
The Timberwolves lost Donte Divincenzo early in the game to a devastating Achilles tendon injury, and his replacement, Dosunmu, set a Timberwolves record with 43 points off the bench. He shot 8-10 in the second half, including three easy layups, and he was the difference maker for the Timberwolves, who also lost Anthony Edwards in the game due to a knee injury.
Panic mode is setting in
This could be it for the Nuggets. In years past, you'd have given them a puncher's chance to make a comeback in the series, and we still will, because the Nuggets have Nikola Jokic, but they also seem to be lacking something this year, putting a large amount of doubt into that thought.
The Nuggets lost a four-point halftime lead to a Timberwolves team without their leading scorer, Edwards, and their starting point guard, Divicenzo. And even worse, they basically rolled over and let it happen.
Joker went silent in the fourth quarter, again, scoring just 4 points and making no shots, 0-6 from the floor in the closing frame. He hasn't been the same this series, and if he doesn't come around, this season is over.
The Nuggets have come back before, but it feels different this time around. The consequences could be severe if the Nuggets don't find a way to pull this series out.