It’s safe to say that the Minnesota Timberwolves made one of the best in-season trades this year. Adding Ayo Dosunmu may not have been seen as newsworthy, and a lot of Minnesota fans probably weren’t all that aware of him as he was rostered by a Chicago Bulls team that seemingly lived in the Play-In Tournament without ever advancing to the playoffs.
They certainly are aware of the 26-year-old now. He’s been awesome since joining the club in early February, but he showcased his talents to the world during Game 4 of the opening round of the playoffs on Saturday against the Denver Nuggets.
Per OptaSTATS, Ayo became the first player ever (in either the regular season or postseason) to have a game of 40-plus points while shooting at least 75 percent from the field, 100 percent from 3-point range (minimum 5 attempts), and 100 percent from the foul line (minimum 10 attempts).
Ayo Dosunmu’s historic Game 4
It would have been understandable if the Timberwolves’ minds weren’t into Game 4, and they allowed the Nuggets to tie up the series. A non-contact injury less than a minute into the game has been confirmed as a torn Achilles for Donte DiVincenzo. In the second quarter, Anthony Edwards went down with a hyperextended knee and a bone bruise, which is expected to sideline him for multiple weeks.
We know that instead the Wolves pushed through the major adversities, and they now are one win away from advancing to the next round. It was the play of Dosunmu that spearheaded the victory for Minnesota.
Playing 42 minutes, Ayo finished the Game 4 victory with a whopping 43 points. That surpassed his previous career-high of 35 (regular season or playoffs), and it was an incredibly efficient scoring evening for the fifth-year player. Dosunmu shot 13-for-17 from the field, made all five of his 3-point tries, and went 12-for-12 from the foul line.
His impact was absolutely needed in the second half as Minnesota was without its top scorer and top 3-point shooter. Dosunmu scored 27 of their 62 points in the second half. He made 8 of his 10 field goal attempts over the final 24 minutes while the rest of the team barely made more than a third of their shots. The difference in 3-point shooting was even more drastic after halftime (Ayo went 3-for-3, the rest of the team went 1-for-10).
Now, Dosunmu will move to the starting lineup. Certainly, it’s unrealistic to expect him, or anyone, to continue putting up performances like the one he had in Game 4.
Without Ant or Donte, though, his role will be increased on the offensive end as the Timberwolves look for one more win to secure a spot in the Western Conference semifinals.
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