The Minnesota Timberwolves entered Tuesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets on the road looking to complete a regular-season sweep of Nikola Jokic and company. However, they were undermanned, with both Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo serving suspensions due to an on-court altercation in a previous game against the Detroit Pistons.
Fortunately for the Timberwolves, Nickeil Alexander-Walker stepped up and delivered a noteworthy performance off the bench to help the Timberwolves score a 140-139 victory.
In fact, the former Virginia Tech Hokies guard made NBA history with his big game against the Nuggets.
(h/t Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic):
From @Twolves_PR: Nickeil Alexander-Walker (26p, 8-16 FG/5-11 3s, 8a, 7r, 2b) is the first player in NBA history to come off the bench and record 25+ points on 50.0%+ shooting, including 5+ made threes, 5+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 2+ blocks.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker wins it for the Minnesota Timberwolves with crucial FTs
It is also worth mentioning that Alexander-Walker also won the game for the Timberwolves by sinking a couple of free throws near the end of the double overtime.
He was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook and made the first two free throws before purposely missing the last one to eat away the remaining time on the clock and deny the Nuggets a chance to regroup and design a play for a potential miracle game-winner.
Alexander-Walker has been a decent asset for the Timberwolves this season. He is averaging 9.5 points per game while converting 39.0 percent of his shots from behind the arc. Going deeper, the Timberwolves are 2.2 points per 100 possessions better when the 26-year-old shooting guard is on the floor.
Alexander-Walker, who was traded to Minnesota by the Utah Jazz in 2023, is playing on an expiring contract, so there’s that motivation for him to play well the rest of the way this season.
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