Ayo Dosunmu scored a career-high 43 points, stepping up after leg injuries to Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo with the highest-scoring playoff performance by a reserve in 50 years, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 112-96 on Saturday night

Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets players get into an altercation during the second half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Ayo Dosunmu scored a career-high 43 points, stepping up after leg injuries to Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo with the highest-scoring playoff performance by a reserve in 50 years, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 112-96 on Saturday night.

The Timberwolves took a 3-1 lead in the series in a game that ended with ejections of Denver's Nikola Jokic and Minnesota's Julius Randle after Jokic became angry when Jaden McDaniels made a meaningless layup with 2.1 seconds remaining and confronted the Wolves' swingman near his bench.

The story before that was Dosunmu, who had the best performance by a sub since Fred Brown scored 45 off the bench for Seattle in a 116-111 loss to Phoenix on April 15, 1976.

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Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets players get into an altercation during the second half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, works toward the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) defends during the first half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shoots over Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)