Did the Timberwolves win last night? Minnesota was already ahead 3-1 in the playoff series after Game 4, and the NBA on Sunday fined Denver's Nikola Jokic $50,000 and Minnesota's Julius Randle $35,000 for their roles in the late altercation that ended with both players ejected.
The trouble started when Jaden McDaniels took an uncontested layup with 2.1 seconds left, a basket that came when the Timberwolves were leading by 14. The league said Jokic initiated the incident by confronting and shoving McDaniels, while Randle escalated it by forcefully inserting himself into the scrum and shoving Nuggets guard-forward Bruce Brown. Jokic later said, “He scored when we’d stopped playing,” and added, “You guys saw what happened.”
Both players were eligible to play Monday when the series resumed with Game 5 in Denver. The teams were meeting in the postseason for the third time in the last four years, and the fines became the latest flashpoint in a series that had already turned physical before the scoreboard had settled it.
That matters because Minnesota also lost Donte DiVincenzo for the rest of the season to a torn Achilles and Anthony Edwards indefinitely to a knee injury, with both injuries coming Saturday, April 25, 2026. For the Timberwolves, a 3-1 lead gave them control, but the roster losses and the league discipline left Game 5 with more uncertainty than the series score suggested.
The bigger question now is whether the next game in Denver stays about basketball. Game 4 ended with the Timberwolves in front and the Nuggets frustrated, and the NBA’s punishment ensures that the aftermath will follow both teams into the building on Monday.