Minnesota blew a 99-91 lead late in the fourth quarter only to survive in overtime 112-106 in overtime to beat the Denver Nuggets and clinch a playoff berth for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
“It’s fun,” Jimmy Butler said on Fox Sports North after the game. “We brought this organization and this city back where it needs to be.”
https://twitter.com/Kyle_Ratke/status/984262437435330560
Tied 101-101 with under 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Butler missed a fadeaway 20-footer, giving Denver a chance with 4.4 seconds left on the clock.
Denver never got a shot off. Nikola Jokic was stripped of the ball by Taj Gibson, who called timeout to give the Wolves another chance to win in regulation with just over a second remaining, but Jamal Crawford’s 40-foot prayer didn’t come close.
In overtime, the Wolves were trailing 106-105 until Jeff Teague hit a 14-foot runner as the shot clock expired and the Wolves never gave the lead back.
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Leading 108-106, Andrew Wiggins hit a pair of clutch free throws to seal the victory and Minnesota’s first trip to the playoffs in more than 5,000 days.
Butler led the Wolves with 31 points and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 28 points
Minnesota will enter the playoffs as the 8-seed and take on the 1-seed Houston Rockets.
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