Dosunmu scores 43 points as Timberwolves overcome injuries to beat Nuggets 112-96 for 3-1 lead

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When the Minnesota Timberwolves acquired Ayo Dosunmu from Chicago in February, they expected to get a strong defender and savvy offensive player. If he wants to be an elite scorer, they'll take that, too.

Dosunmu scored a career-high 43 points, stepping up after leg injuries to Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo with the highest-scoring playoff performance by a reserve in 50 years, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 112-96 on Saturday night to take a 3-1 series lead.

“Ayo was just out of this world, man,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Just play after play after play."

Dosunmu made 13 of 17 shots, going 5 of 5 from 3-point range, and all 12 of his free throws in a season-high 42 minutes.

“He goes places quick. He’s an unbelievable finisher. He makes big shots,” Finch said. “He’s not afraid. Just was going to ride him until he collapsed, really.”

It was the best performance by a sub since Fred Brown scored 45 off the bench for Seattle in a 116-111 loss to Phoenix on April 15, 1976.

“I know it sounds cliche, but I can’t and won’t take this moment for granted,” Dosunmu said, “because I understand how long and how hard it is to get here.”

The game ended with the ejections of Denver's Nikola Jokic and Minnesota's Julius Randle after Jokic became angry when Jaden McDaniels made a meaningless layup with 2.1 seconds remaining and confronted the Wolves' swingman near his bench.

Jamal Murray led Denver with 30 points. Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. The Nuggets were just 6 for 27 from 3-point range.

The Wolves have won the last three games and can end the series in Game 5 on Monday night in Denver.

“I expect us to have a great effort in Game 5,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “I really trust our two best players will find a rhythm, and they have to find that at home."

Jokic and Murray were 6 of 24 from the field in the second half.

“We had the opportunity to score easier, get open looks, and we didn’t,” Jokic said. “And in the fourth quarter the momentum is on their side. They were making shots, they were playing with some energy and we didn’t have that.”

The Nuggets led by seven in the third quarter before the Timberwolves used a disruptive defense to get back into the game. Bones Hyland and Dosunmu scored breakaway layups on consecutive possessions after Minnesota forced the Nuggets to turn it over near halfcourt — two of nine second-half turnovers for the Nuggets.

Randle added a steal and fast-break dunk to put the Wolves up by four after three quarters.

Dosunmu had another steal and layup as part of a 9-0 run early in the fourth quarter that gave Minnesota a 95-82 lead. The basket that pushed the lead into double digits was a 3-pointer by 38-year-old Mike Conley, who played 20 minutes while filling in for DiVincenzo and Edwards.

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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) celebrates after making a 3-point basket during the first half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) celebrates after making a 3-point basket during the second half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shoots over Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, works toward the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) defends during the first half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets players get into an altercation during the second half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets players get into an altercation during the second half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — An explosive device killed 13 people traveling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.

Octavio Guzmán, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was traveling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.

Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces,told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Iván Mordisco” — one of Colombia’s most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.

Neither Iván Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.

“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.

The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which López said has only affected civilians.

They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.

On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.

The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilization of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.

“These criminals seek to instill fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sánchez said on X.

Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”

According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.

The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than $14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.

The covered body of a victim lies among vehicles damaged in an attack on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, where authorities said at least a dozen people were killed and blamed dissident groups of the former FARC rebels. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

The covered body of a victim lies among vehicles damaged in an attack on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, where authorities said at least a dozen people were killed and blamed dissident groups of the former FARC rebels. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

People gather around a bus hit by an explosive device on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, after an attack blamed by authorities on dissident groups of the former FARC rebels killed at least a dozen people. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

People gather around a bus hit by an explosive device on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, after an attack blamed by authorities on dissident groups of the former FARC rebels killed at least a dozen people. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

People gather around vehicles damaged in an attack on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, that killed at least a dozen people and authorities blamed on dissident groups of the former FARC rebels. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Relatives of victims embrace in front of a bus hit by an explosive device on the Pan-American Highway in Cajibio, Colombia, Saturday, April 25, 2026, after an attack blamed by authorities on dissident groups of the former FARC rebels killed at least a dozen people. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)