Minnesota Timberwolves 7 most heartbreaking moments of the year

4. Jokic game-winner

On November 10th, the then 5-4 Timberwolves faced off against the 7-2 Denver Nuggets at Target Center. The matchup between two of the three best centers in the league drew everyone’s attention.

Towns and Nikola Jokic faced off for the 16th time in their careers, with Jokic having a 9-6 record against Towns going into the game, according to Land of Basketball. Although Jokic’s team has gotten the better of Town’s over the years, KAT holds better statistics through these matchups.

In head-to-head matchups Towns averages 23.8 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game while Jokic averages 15.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks per contest, according to Land of Basketball. It is clear that Towns outplays Jokic individually when they match up. Yet, Towns needs to start winning games versus Jokic to get the respect of the national media.

Through almost three-and-a-half quarters, the game seemed to be all but over. According to Basketball References’ Play-By-Play of the matchup, Gary Harris made a three-pointer to put Denver up 90-74 with 6:43 left in the 4th quarter.

I was at the movie theater and checked my phone at this point to see how the game was going. After seeing the score, I put my phone away for the rest of the fourth quarter. After a while, I got a notification saying the Wolves were headed to overtime and was utterly confused how that was possible. The Timberwolves went on a 16-0 run, capped off by Towns’ three-pointer with 42 seceonds left to tie the game at 90 going into overtime.

Now, I took my phone back out and streamed the overtime period during the movie. I know, poor movie etiquette, but we were the only ones in the theater and the film was subpar.

With just 26 seconds left, Robert Covington made a layup to knot the game at 98.

At this point, Denver had the ball and Jokic was matched up with Towns. He faked a spin move and faded away to nail the mid-range jumper right over the outstretched arm of Towns with three seconds left. The ensuing possession saw Josh Okogie miss a three and led to Denver defeating Minnesota 100-98.

This was a heartbreaking loss for the Wolves as they mounted a ridiculous comeback to end the fourth quarter only to be decimated by Jokic in overtime. Jokic ended the game with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists, but was outplayed by Towns’ 25 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 assists.

This game would have showed the world that Towns could outplay Jokic and win the game, but yet again KAT’s efforts were not enough against the rival Nuggets.