Ayo Dosunmu has scored 92 points over four November games for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Minnesota has won all four. The Timberwolves are 8-3 while Anthony Edwards recovers from right knee surgery, and they are 5-2 without him.
Dosunmu shot better than 50% from the field in those games, made 9 of 20 3-pointers and 17 of 18 free throws, and averaged 35 minutes. For the season, he is averaging 18.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists on 52.1% shooting, including 46.7% from 3-point range. The scoring and shooting marks are career highs.
Minnesota moved Dosunmu into the starting lineup in place of Edwards, pairing him with LaMelo Ball in the backcourt. “Those two guys open up a lot of things for everybody,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told The Associated Press.
Ball is averaging 18.3 points and 6.0 assists. “He’s like a track star out there,” Ball told the AP of Dosunmu.
Edwards Out After Knee Procedure
Edwards had an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee on Oct. 29, and the team said he is expected to make a full recovery. No timetable was given for Edwards, 25, who is averaging 33.3 points in four games this season. Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly had described it as a cleanup procedure the day before.
Edwards last played Oct. 26, when he scored 47 points in more than 41 minutes of a 127-125 overtime loss at Cleveland. Two nights later, without him, Minnesota lost 119-114 to the Golden State Warriors and fell to 3-2.
The Timberwolves have also been without guard Donte DiVincenzo, who tore his right Achilles tendon in the same playoff game against Denver in which Edwards hyperextended his left knee.
Dosunmu And Ball Lead The Homestand Opener
Minnesota opened an eight-game homestand Sunday with a 115-100 win over the Utah Jazz. Dosunmu scored 26 on 7-of-13 shooting, a dozen of his points in the fourth quarter, and made all 8 of his free throws. Ball added 24 on 10-of-20 shooting. Bones Hyland scored 14 in a reserve role, his fifth game in double figures off the bench this season, and Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Hyland is averaging 8.5 points. Jaden McDaniels is averaging 17.0 points per game, and Gobert is averaging 12.1 rebounds. Minnesota and the Portland Trail Blazers are both 8-3, behind the Lakers, Spurs, and Rockets in the Western Conference.
Minnesota acquired Dosunmu from his hometown Chicago Bulls before last season’s trade deadline, and he re-signed with the Timberwolves for five years and $112 million. He scored a career-high 43 points against the Denver Nuggets in last spring’s playoffs after Edwards was injured.
Dosunmu, 26 and in his sixth NBA season, credited film study and Gobert’s screening for his improvement attacking the basket. That approach goes back to how he was introduced to basketball, Dosunmu told the AP: “always quick reads, make quick decisions.”
The Timberwolves host the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT and the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. The homestand continues with two games against Portland on Monday and Tuesday, then the New York Knicks on Nov. 19, the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 21, and the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 23.
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