The Minnesota Timberwolves watched their game plan get shredded less than two minutes into Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, when guard Donte DiVincenzo exited with a right lower leg injury and never returned. The play looked harmless at first, but quickly turned into a gut-punch for a team trying to claw through the first round.
About 71 seconds into the game, DiVincenzo sprinted after a loose ball, planted his right foot, then immediately grabbed the back of his lower leg. He limped straight to the locker room as trainers and teammates surrounded him, and the building went quiet while he made his way off the floor. According to the Star Tribune, DiVincenzo had been the only Timberwolves player to appear in every game this season, which only adds to the sting.
The team quickly ruled him out for the rest of the night, with replays showing the guard clutching the back of his lower right leg on a non-contact sequence as he tried to chase down the ball. As reported by Reuters, the injury came in the opening moments and the organization did not offer any immediate timetable for his return.
What This Means For Minnesota
DiVincenzo has been one of Minnesota’s key long-range weapons, pulling defenders out of the paint and giving the offense some badly needed breathing room. He averaged 12.2 points per game during the regular season while stretching defenses. According to NBA.com, he hovered around 38 percent from three this year. AP game logs compiled by KIRO7 show he was averaging roughly 14 points across the first three games of the series, hitting 11 of 22 attempts from deep.
Take that kind of shooting off the floor, and the spacing equation shifts in a hurry. Without DiVincenzo pulling defenders to the perimeter, Minnesota will have to lean harder on other wings and guards to soak up shots and attention against Denver’s size and length.
Rotation, Replacements And Next Steps
In DiVincenzo’s absence, the Wolves shuffled their backcourt mix, turning to Ayo Dosunmu and veteran guards to cover minutes while role players were asked to pick up the slack at both ends. SI noted that Minnesota is expected to lean on players such as Naz Reid, Bones Hyland and Mike Conley if DiVincenzo is out beyond a single game.
The team did not offer a detailed diagnosis after the final buzzer and said further updates would follow additional evaluation, according to team and game reports. For the Wolves and their fans, the short-term concern is brutally straightforward: how long will DiVincenzo be out, and who can realistically fill the shooting and spacing void he leaves behind in a playoff series that is already tight and unforgiving?
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