The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 112-96 on Saturday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round play-off series, though the win came at a cost as the Western Conference’s sixth seed lost starting guards Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo to leg injuries.

Edwards came into Game 4 averaging team highs of 23 points and 1.67 blocks while adding eight rebounds and four assists per game, but he exited the contest late in the second quarter as his left knee buckled when he landed after attempting to block a layup by Denver’s Cameron Johnson.

The four-time All-Star is scheduled to undergo tests.

DiVincenzo, meanwhile, lasted just 1:19 before tearing his right Achilles tendon when he slipped on the court while chasing down the ball.

DiVincenzo’s season is over after he entered Saturday leading the Timberwolves with five assists and 2.33 steals per game in the play-offs while averaging 14.3 points and five boards and making 11 of 22 attempts from three-point range.

And Anthony Edwards is set to undergo tests on his injured left knee. He had been playing through runner's knee in his other knee. The Timberwolves starting guards sustain injuries in the first half tonight in Game 4 against Denver. https://t.co/ipDf2LPRLS

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 26, 2026

Fellow guard Ayo Dosunmo stepped up off the bench to lead Minnesota over the third-seeded Nuggets, scoring a career-high 43 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the field, 5 of 5 from beyond the arc and 12 of 12 from the free-throw line.

It was the most points by a reserve player in postseason history since Fred Brown scored 45 for the Seattle SuperSonics against the Phoenix Suns in the first round in April 1976.

“I was heartbroken,” Dosunmu said. “This is for them. Ant, Donte, they mean so much to the organisation.

"I’m sending them prayers. I hope for a speedy recovery. I hope they’re fine, but this game, personally, was for them.”

Jamal Murray had 30 points, five assists and five rebounds, and Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 boards, nine assists and three steals for a Denver team that’s dropped three straight in the series after winning 116-105 in Game 1.

The Timberwolves can advance to the second round with a win in Game 5 at Denver on Monday.

Magic grab 2-1 lead over Pistons

Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner hit key three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, and the Orlando Magic suffocated the Detroit Pistons down the stretch to come away with a 113-105 win and 2-1 lead in their first-round postseason series.

Top-seeded Detroit erased a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit and went up by one on a free throw by Cade Cunningham with 2:52 remaining, but the Pistons failed to score the rest of the way.

After Cunningham’s made free throw, Wagner hit a jumper and three-pointer on consecutive possessions to put No. 8 seed Orlando up 109-105.

Banchero delivered the final blows in the last minute, stealing the ball from Cunningham before making a three-pointer with 39 seconds left.

Banchero had 25 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and two blocks, Desmond Bane made seven three-pointers to also score 25, and Wagner added 17 points, six assists and five boards.

Cunningham finished with 27 points and nine assists for the Pistons but shot 8 of 23 from the field as Detroit’s offence came up short in the clutch again.

In the final three minutes of fourth quarters in this series, the Pistons are shooting 2 of 13 with six turnovers.

Game 4 is scheduled for Monday in Orlando.

SATURDAY'S FINAL SCORES

Paolo flirts with a triple-double as the @OrlandoMagic win Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs presented by @Google !

Desmond Bane: 25 PTS, 7 REB, 7 3PM
Franz Wagner: 17 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST
Jalen Suggs: 15 PTS, 3 3PM… pic.twitter.com/ahDp8gmyqf

— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2026

Thunder inch closer to sweeping Suns

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set a career play-off high with 42 points as the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Phoenix Suns 121-109 to grab a 3-0 advantage in the teams’ opening-round series.

Gilgeous-Alexander shot 15 of 18 overall and made 11 of 12 free-throw attempts while contributing eight assists and four rebounds in a dominating performance from the reigning league MVP and NBA Finals MVP.

Ajay Mitchell (15 points), Alex Caruso (13) and Chet Holmgren (10) were the only other players from the No. 1 seed Thunder to reach double digits in scoring.

Mitchell added six rebounds in his first career play-off start in place of Jalen Williams, who sat out after injuring his left hamstring in Game 2.

The Suns got 33 points from Dillon Brooks and 26 from Jalen Green, but Devin Booker shot just 6 of 16 for 16 points and briefly left the game with a left ankle injury.

Eighth-seeded Phoenix has dropped all three contests in this series by double figures and will look to avoid being swept in Game 4 on Monday.

Game coming

Goodnight pic.twitter.com/fCqWqajAgZ

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 26, 2026

Knicks roll by Hawks to even series

The New York Knicks rebounded from consecutive one-point losses to the Atlanta Hawks by posting an easy 114-98 win in Game 4 to tie the first-round series at 2-all.

Karl-Anthony Towns recorded his first career play-off triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, OG Anunoby scored 22 while grabbing 10 boards and Jalen Brunson had 19 points to lead third-seeded New York.

Towns became the fourth Knicks player to have a triple-double in the postseason, joining Hall of Famers Walt Frazier and Dick McGuire and current teammate Josh Hart.

CJ McCollum led No. 6 seed Atlanta with 17 points after averaging 27 in the first three games of the series, Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 15 and Jalen Johnson added 14 points.

Those three players combined to commit 12 of Atlanta’s 18 turnovers.

The series moves back to New York for Game 5 on Tuesday.

KAT becomes one of four knicks all-time to record a triple-double in the playoffs pic.twitter.com/OMsetM1mOC

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 26, 2026