Minnesota Timberwolves: What if … Andrew Wiggins missed those free throws?

The game

Before we take a look at the shots that saved the game for the Timberwolves, it might be beneficial to take a look at what led us to this point.

The game started out fairly even. Neither team jumped out to a huge lead, and they both just seemed content to trade two- or three point leads through the opening minutes.

Then, with a little under eight minutes remaining in the first quarter, Paul Millsap drained a corner 3 to set the Nuggets up with an 11-6 lead. The Timberwolves fought back, and with the combined efforts of Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins, they were able to tie the game at 13 with just over six minutes left in the first.

The two teams remained close, but some late-half heroics by Derrick Rose and Karl-Anthony Towns saw Minnesota gain a 62-54 lead at the half. The Timberwolves managed to hold on to that lead for the most part, and they were up 86-81 going into the fourth quarter.

The Nuggets weren’t about to go out lying down though, and they attacked Minnesota throughout the final quarter, and with one second left, Nikola Jokic had the ball with the score knotted at 101.

Jokic had been having a great game up to that point. He’d end the contest with 35 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and a steal. The guy guarding him, Taj Gibson, had not been having a great game. He’d been struggling offensively. In the end, he would shoot 4-of-8 from the field, all from 2-point range, to finish with eight points, six rebounds, a minus-5 plus/minus and two steals.

It just so happened that one of those steals came at this moment.

As Jokic turned around the drive to the hoop, Gibson knocked the ball out of his hands, grabbed it, and called for a timeout with just a second left on the clock. Jamal Crawford missed a Hail Mary deep-3 which would’ve ended it, but the Timberwolves would end up pulling away 112-106, thanks in part to the Andrew Wiggins free throws.

But let’s say he missed those. What happens next?