Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards out indefinitely with ankle injury Jalen Brunson returns, scores 24 to spark Knicks as Nuggets slide continues Trail Blazers’ Justise Winslow has ankle procedure, likely done for season NBA fines Dillon Brooks $35,000 for shoving cameraman Watch Vucevic poster dunk seal Bulls 2OT win over Timberwolves

It could knock out the Timberwolves’ playoff dream.

Anthony Edwards Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said ahead of Saturday’s game that he was still in walking boots and out indefinitely with an ankle injury.

Chris Finch said Ant is still in the trunk and they don’t know how long he might be out. https://t.co/UrbaVpKpPA

— Alan Horton (@WolvesRadio) March 18, 2023

Not a big deal, Edwards hasn’t missed a single game this season and is proud to play every night in the era of workload management.

Edwards has emerged as Minnesota’s top shot-maker and leading scorer, averaging 24.7 points per game this season. Its role has expanded from Karl-Anthony Towns dropped out with a calf injury and the Timberwolves trailed by 3.4 points per 100 possessions when he was off the court.

Now the Timberwolves will have to rework their offense as they chase a game in which they are in 8th place but just one game higher than they missed the playoffs entirely. Kyle Anderson, Mike Conley And Jayden McDaniels more will be demanded of them. In particular, Conley, who was deliberately more of a playmaker after the trade that brought him to Minnesota, should increase his scoring. Without Edwards’ trigger play, the Minnesota need Conley to get into the paint and hit a few floaters.

Edwards injured his ankle when he accidentally fell on Alex Carusoleg against the Bulls on Friday night.

For those who haven’t seen Anthony Edwards’ right ankle injury: #Timberwolves #Raised by wolves pic.twitter.com/5LozJ7nHN3

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) March 18, 2023

No details have been released about the injury, but if it’s a grade 2 sprain (or worse), Edwards could miss the rest of this season and the playoffs.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 24 points on his return from a left leg injury to lead the New York Knicks to a 116–110 win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.

Brunson scored 16 points in the first quarter to get the Knicks off to a quick start and then finished well, helping them bounce back from being 13 behind in the second half. New York were defending a two-point lead when they made two free throws with 43 seconds left, then pushed the ball down the court and hit a cross that Mitchell Robinson dropped to make it 116-110 with 24 seconds left.

Brunson is back.

24 points in the Knicks (W) 😤 pic.twitter.com/fmHN7MnBzJ

— NBA (@NBA) March 18, 2023

Brunson has missed five of the last six games and has played only half of the one game he has played due to soreness. With the return of point guard, the Knicks won their third straight win and improved to 42-20, guaranteeing their second win in 10 seasons.

R. J. Barrett added 21 points and Julius Randle it was 20 for the Knicks. Robinson grabbed nine rebounds.

Nikola Jokic had 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets, who were down for the fifth time in six games. Jamal Murray scored 25 points.

The Western Conference leaders snapped their longest four-game losing streak of the season Thursday in Detroit but quickly fell through this one as Brunson’s early outburst gave the Knicks and a sold-out crowd of 19,812 more energy than usual. for the day game.

It was close for most of the fourth quarter, with Randle’s basket recording 110 points with 2:21 left.

This is Knicks basketball 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/JBu1rZgoio

— NEW YORK NIKKS (@nyknicks) March 18, 2023

Brunson scored the first five points and later made a couple of three-point plays in the first quarter, the latter with 3:55 left to give him 16 points, matching Denver’s total for the game at that point.

New York led 36–28 after the first and extended it to 45–32 after a 7–0 fast run. But the Nuggets began to feel comfortable midway through the second half, when a Jokic three-pointer set off a 7-0 outburst and they passed the Knicks shortly before halftime.

Murray hit back-to-back 3-pointers to end the series 13–2 to give Denver a 67–59 lead before Randle made a 3-pointer to cut the streak to five at halftime.

The Nuggets scored 10 straight at the start of the third to make it 79–67, but the Knicks outscored them 16–5 to end the period with a 91 tie.

Days before Christmas the Trail Blazers wing Justice Winslow suffered a grade 2 ankle sprain against the Thunder. Since then, he has not set foot on the court.

He has now undergone ankle surgery that will likely sideline him for the rest of this season. From trailblazers official release:

After the All-Star break, Winslow received a second opinion and a follow-up procedure of a bone marrow aspirate concentrate was performed in March to address ongoing discomfort in his left ankle.

A bone marrow aspiration procedure involves taking bone marrow from another part of the body, distilling it into a concentrate, and then injecting that marrow into the injured area to promote healing. It’s not uncommon in the NBA, Dwight Howard had it back in 2015 and the recovery time is traditionally 4-6 weeks.

In this case it will be the end of the season. It’s doubtful we’ll see Winslow again this season at Portland. Winslow averaged 6.8 points and five rebounds per game for the Blazers when he actually played.

Trail Blazers 13th in the West Despite Brilliant Play Damian Lillard this season and the team is 2.5 games away from the final play-in point. Portland desperately needs wins to stand a chance.

Winslow became an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Dillon Brooks was chasing a lost ball in the second quarter against the Heat on Thursday night, an innocent enough play, but Brooks crashed into a cameraman crouched next to the court table.

Brooks then pushed the operator. This earned him a $35,000 fine from the league.

Dillon Brooks was fined $35,000 for pushing this operator.

pic.twitter.com/tsPjox8Dsl

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) March 17, 2023

The cameraman was injured and was still undergoing a medical examination two days later, according to Jason Jackson, the play’s host on Heat radio.

I rarely comment on such things, BUT this is personal. Our Veteran @BallyHEAT the camera operator was injured and is under surveillance.

The fine was in the order of things, but the maximum would have been like a pinch of justice after neglecting another person – unbelievable in that regard. https://t.co/cF6YzyCTda

— Jason Jackson (@TheJaxShow) March 17, 2023

I couldn’t agree with you…