Why Mike Conley Was the Best Part of Timberwolves-Nuggets Scrap in Game 4

All eyes are on the NBA league offices Sunday in the aftermath of the late-game skirmish between Nikola Jokić and Jaden McDaniels in the Timberwolves’ 112–96 win over the Nuggets on Saturday night.

In the closing moments of Game 4 at Target Center, Wolves forward Jaden McDaniels—who has let the Nuggets know all series long exactly what he thinks about them—decided against dribbling the clock out and instead banked in a wide-open layup with 1.3 seconds left to turn a 14-point win into a 16-point win. Jokić, who has played below his personal standards all series, wasn’t having it and got in a shoving match with McDaniels and multiple Timberwolves players.

It was a chaotic scene to end a very entertaining game highlighted by Ayo Dosunmu’s 43-point flurry. But it wouldn’t have happened if not for a pass from the very best part of this spicy storyline—38-year-old veteran guard Mike Conley.

Conley, widely known in league circles as a leader and professional Good Guy who has never been whistled for a single technical foul in 1,338 career games, was asked about the moment following Minnesota’s win. He had a perfect response.

“Nah, that was a slip up; that’s all on me. I take the blame,” Conley said with a chuckle. “I apologize to the Denver Nuggets, I apologize to myself, to my team. As soon as I threw it, I looked down and I was like, ‘Ah, it’s Jaden.’ I almost put my hands on my head and I was like, ‘Maybe he won’t.’ As soon as I saw him when the ball bounced a couple times [I said], ’It’s over man; it’s about to get crazy.’ You can even see me lower my head.”

Mike Conley on if he was trying to start trouble at the end of the game passing it up to Jaden McDaniels

“(Laughs) nah that was a slip up, that’s all on me I take the blame… as soon as I threw it I looked and I was like “ah it’s Jaden” I almost put my hands on my head and I was… pic.twitter.com/nZoMUIUVeK
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) April 26, 2026

Without realizing it, Conley had passed the ball to McDaniels, who did exactly what the veteran thought he would and broke an unwritten rule to further poke the bear. And poke the bear, McDaniels did. All Conley could do is laugh and shake his head as he stayed on the other side of the court while nearly every other player raced over to the Timberwolves’ bench to get their hands on the altercation.

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Keep your eyes on the bottom left of the screen for Conley:

Jaden McDaniels end-of-game layup, Nikola Jokic freaks out and sprints at him pic.twitter.com/JIIfkkmQx6
— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) April 26, 2026

A classic veteran move right there.

The rivalry between Jaden McDaniels and the Nuggets, explained

The McDaniels-Jokić skirmish didn’t come out of nowhere.

The Timberwolves and Nuggets have developed a fierce rivalry over the last handful of years as repeat playoff opponents. In 2023, Denver sent Minnesota packing in the first round. The following year, the Timberwolves got revenge by ending the Nuggets’ season with a dramatic comeback in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. Furthermore, the Timberwolves boast former Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly as their president of basketball operations, and feature former Denver first-round pick Bones Hyland on the roster this year.

McDaniels, though, took the rivalry to the next level with his comments following Game 2 of this year’s first-round series.

“Yeah, they’re all bad defenders,” McDaniels said of the Nuggets. “They don’t got people that can defend the rim. If [Jokić] is there, we’re still more athletic than them and just got to be able to finish when we do.”

McDaniels followed up those comments by torching the Nuggets for 20 points in Game 3, and doubled down by breaking the unwritten rule to close out Game 4. He’ll get another chance to back up his words in Game 5 on Monday night in Denver.