Latest / The Sports Hangover Daily / Dosunmu Drops 43 Off the Bench as Wolves Take 3-1 Lead | Apr 27, 2026
Transcript
- Ayo Dosunmu dropped FORTY-THREE points off the bench last night. Went five of five from three, twelve of twelve from the line. The Wolves lost Anthony Edwards AND Donte DiVincenzo to injuries — and Dosunmu just said, "Cool, I got this." That might be the gutsiest performance of the entire first round. Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Alright, let's talk about Minnesota and Denver, because Game Four on Saturday night was an absolute — no. It was a wild ride. The Timberwolves went into Denver and won one twelve to ninety-six, taking a three to one series lead. And the story isn't even the final score. It's everything that happened around it. First — Anthony Edwards left in the second quarter with an injury. Donte DiVincenzo went down just seventy-one seconds into the game. So Minnesota's sitting there, in Denver, missing two of their best perimeter guys, and they STILL won by sixteen. How? Ayo Dosunmu happened. Forty-three points off the bench. Five of five from deep. Twelve of twelve from the free throw line. That stat line is genuinely ridiculous. I don't care what round of the playoffs it is — that's one of the most efficient scoring performances you'll see all year. And then there's the Jokic situation. With one point three seconds left, Nikola Jokic shoved Jaden McDaniels after a layup. Just a full forearm to the chest. No play on the ball. Just frustration. Jokic got fined fifty thousand dollars. Julius Randle got hit with thirty-five K for escalating things. Look — I get it. Jokic is frustrated. Denver's about to go home. But that's a bad look for the MVP of that franchise. You don't shove a guy with a second left in a blowout loss. That's not competitive fire. That's quitting ugly. Minnesota can close this out tonight in Denver. And honestly? Even without Edwards, I think they might. In the East, Boston handled Philly in Game Four, winning one nineteen to one oh four. Jayson Tatum had thirty points and eleven assists. Payton Pritchard went off for a playoff career-high thirty-two. Six threes. The Celtics lead that series three to one, and Tatum playing like this — coming back from a ruptured Achilles — is kind of remarkable. Philly got twenty-six and ten from Embiid, but it wasn't enough. It hasn't been enough all series. That one feels over. Down in San Antonio, the Spurs pulled off one of the best comebacks of the postseason. They trailed the Grizzlies by seventeen at halftime and came all the way back to win one oh nine to one oh one. That's a three to one series lead for San Antonio now. Victor Wembanyama is starting to look like a guy who just figures things out as the game goes on. Memphis had it. They had that game. And they gave it away. That's a problem when you're facing elimination next. Quick look at tonight's NBA slate — Detroit hosts Orlando in Game Four, the Magic lead that series two to one. OKC can sweep Phoenix at nine thirty Eastern. And Minnesota tries to close out Denver at ten thirty. Three massive games. Over to the NHL — Buffalo swept Boston on Sunday, winning four to two in Game Four. Josh Doan, Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and Bowen Byram all had a goal and an assist. Alex Lyon stopped twenty-three shots. The Sabres hadn't won a playoff series since 2007. Think about that — fourteen years of nothing, and they just ran through Boston in four straight. That fanbase deserves this. Carolina also completed a sweep, beating Ottawa four to two in Game Four on Sunday. The Hurricanes are rolling. On Saturday night, the Penguins beat Philly four to two to take a three to one series lead. Crosby's still doing Crosby things. And Minnesota — the hockey version — beat Dallas three to two in overtime. That series is knotted at two apiece heading back to Dallas. And on the golf side — the Fitzpatrick brothers won the Zurich Classic. Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick took it in a playoff. That's Matt's third win in his last four starts, which is kind of insane. He's now on top of the FedEx Cup standings. Each brother took home one point three seven million dollars. Nice family outing. On the LPGA side, Nelly Korda won the Chevron Championship at eighteen under. That's her third major and her seventeenth career LPGA win. She's just on a different level right now. Here's my Hangover Take for today. The NFL Draft is over, and the team I keep thinking about is the New York Giants. They hired John Harbaugh. They grabbed Arvell Reese at five — a guy only three point seven percent of mock drafts had going to them there. Everyone's comparing him to Micah Parsons. And the buzz around that entire draft class has been overwhelmingly positive. Here's why that matters — the NFC East just got harder. Dallas thinks they fixed their defense. Philly traded up for Makai Lemon at twenty. Washington's still loaded. And now you've got the Giants, who were a joke two years ago, walking into next season with a future Hall of Fame coach and a defense that could be legitimately scary. I'm not ready to call them a playoff team yet. But I am ready to say — the NFC East might be the most competitive division in football next year. Four teams. All thinking they can win it. Someone's gonna be very disappointed, and I genuinely don't know who. That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.