The Timberwolves fly past the Nuggets as a simple trade turns into a dramatic turning point

The Timberwolves were lifeless and trailing the Nuggets in the fourth quarter when Nuggets guard Christian Braun dunked on Rudy Gobert and taunted him. Gobert grabbed Braun and tossed him to the side, and the teams got in each other’s faces as Gobert and Braun got double-tackled.

Amidst the kerfuffle, Wolves coach Chris Finch made a substitution – bringing on Nickeil Alexander-Walker with 5 minutes 14 seconds remaining. The Wolves fell behind by 10, but then Alexander-Walker changed the energy in the arena and led the Wolves to a 119-116 win over the Nuggets in the 21st meeting between the familiar foes in the past three seasons.

“Nothing went right. He brought defense. He brought toughness. He plays hard every time he checks into the game,” said guard Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points. “… But he always does, man. Come on out, bring a lot of energy. That’s just what he does. He just happened to make shots. We needed it.”

After the game, Edwards walked down the aisle with cameras on him and called out Alexander-Walker’s name, with a few exclamation points spliced ​​between syllables, to let everyone know who he thought was the night’s MVP. During the first five games of the season, Alexander-Walker has been one of the most consistent players for Wolves. Entering the season, it was unclear whether the addition of Donte DiVincenzo would take away from Alexander-Walker’s minutes as a backup point guard. Instead, it’s freed Alexander-Walker to thrive doing what he does best — hit open shots, hang tough while mixing in some time at point guard, just not as much as originally expected coming into the season in.

“Today was one of the first days in a while I had no nerves going into the game,” Alexander-Walker said. “I was a bit worried about it, because I don’t just want to come out of the quiet and lackluster. I can really feel the trust in my work and the trust I have and my faith in God. For me, I had to stop worrying about the result.”

Since he and coach Chris Finch talked about it in the preseason, Alexander-Walker has thrived. It got to the point where Finch was making plays for Alexander-Walker in the fourth quarter. The two got to know each other in New Orleans when Alexander-Walker was drafted by the Pelicans and Finch was an assistant. Alexander-Walker’s smile beamed when asked about it after the match.

“Me and Finchy go a long way. I’ll take whatever I can get. For me it was definitely a moment, you know? Like a passing of the torch or something,” he said. “Like we transcended to another level of our relationship .”

Alexander-Walker had eight points and forced two turnovers to lead a 17-4 Wolves run that won the game. He hit a pair of three-pointers and a pair of free throws and had a pair of steals against Nikola Jokic, who produced 26 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds and had Denver in a position to win even after Jamal Murray left the game in concussion protocol.