Anthony Edwards joined the TNT postgame protection instantly following a 98-90 Sport 7 win over the defending champion Denver Nuggets. Charles Barkley began to ask Edwards a query: “I’ve not been to Minneapolis in most likely 20 years,” he stated.
Edwards interjected, “Deliver ya ass.”
It was one other viral second for Edwards. Nonetheless, that’s precisely what the Minnesota Timberwolves will count on from the nationwide media, opposing followers, and the Dallas Mavericks, primarily attributable to Edwards’ brilliance within the postseason.
Sport 7 might look statistically completely different from different Edwards heroics. He didn’t rating 40 factors. He didn’t have six steals and wasn’t excellent from three. Edwards merely performed the best manner, which is spectacular for a 22-year-old on the verge of changing into an all-time famous person.
However Edwards nonetheless had the game-ending three within the fourth quarter.
After a Naz Reid put-back, the Wolves prolonged their result in seven, 89-82. Jamal Murray then turned the ball over at half court docket attributable to a Mike Conley double crew and steal. Conley weaved to the left wing earlier than dumping the ball off to a sprinting Reid, who took two steps in the direction of the rim earlier than whirling a go to the best nook, the place Edwards stood alone.
Edwards was 1/8 from three on the time. He took a dribble, double-checked that he was behind the arc, lined the shot up, and hit nothing however internet. That compelled the Nuggets to name a timeout, down 92-82 with 3:07 remaining. Edwards yelled earlier than celebrating with somebody within the crowd. That 10-point lead would mark a 20-point swing early within the third quarter.
Up till that time, Edwards was 1/8 on three-point makes an attempt and located scoring onerous to return by for many of the sport. Regardless of his struggles scoring, he placed on a masterclass of constructing the best selections and main by setting the desk for his teammates’ success. From early within the first quarter, Edwards was trying to influence the sport in any manner he might.
The primary quarter of the sport began as a rock combat. Edwards scored his first factors on the 8:46 mark of the quarter on a troublesome pull-up bounce shot that made it 4-3 Wolves. The sport would plod on with a sluggish tempo and fantastic protection by each groups, and Edwards would slowly begin to determine Denver’s protection.
Denver made a concerted effort to not enable Edwards to beat them along with his scoring. They doubled him on each pick-and-roll, despatched assistance on each contact, and had defenders lean his solution to crowd the paint. Edwards confronted an analogous look in Sport 5, probably the most he had ever been pressured in his profession. The distinction in Sport 7 was that Conley was enjoying, drastically bettering the spacing.
With the elevated house, Edwards moved the ball faster than in Sport 5, as he displayed twice within the first quarter. On the 7:16 mark, Edwards swung the ball to Conley, who drilled a 3 to make the sport to 7-5. 4 minutes later, Edwards once more confronted the double as Reid handed out of a post-up to Edwards.
Edwards drove as Reid drifted to the nook, and Edwards handed out to Reid for 3, giving the Wolves a 15-12 benefit on the 3:19 mark.
The primary quarter ended with the Nuggets scoring eight straight and main the Wolves 24-19. Edwards scored solely two factors, capturing simply 1/5 from the sphere. His two assists had been encouraging. Nonetheless, it appeared Edwards was discovering the elevated stress difficult to handle, settling for 3 three-point photographs.
The Wolves began dropping management of the sport 4 minutes into the second quarter when Denver grew its result in 12, 32-20. Chris Finch subbed Edwards out and turned to Kyle Anderson off the bench to attempt to kickstart an offense that scored just one level prior to now 5:05 of gameplay. Anderson and the Wolves in the end reduce the result in six earlier than the Nuggets prolonged the lead again to eleven. Finch subbed Edwards in, however that didn’t cease Denver from constructing on their lead.
In the end, the Nuggets prolonged the result in 15 going into halftime, 53-38. Edwards solely had 4 factors on the half, going 1/7 from the sphere. Edwards’ three assists had been encouraging, however he was nonetheless attempting to decipher Denver’s protection on him. Within the postgame interview, Edwards stated that Finch stored it easy, telling him he needed to make faster selections.
“He wasn’t actually mad right now,” stated Edwards. “It was extra like, ‘I do know we going to win this sport, we’ve simply received to do that to win the sport. He wasn’t actually mad. It was identical to his clips on the display screen had been, ‘That is what we’ve received to do to win this sport. And if we do it, we’ll win. And if we don’t, we’ll lose.’ And we did that.”
The third quarter began in doubtlessly the worst attainable manner. The Nuggets scored five-straight factors to extend their result in 20. At this level, the Wolves would want a historic comeback. In Sport 7, no crew had ever come again from a 15-point halftime deficit, not to mention a 20-point deficit. Minnesota would begin to chip away. Rudy Gobert‘s dunk, adopted by a Jaden McDaniels three off an Edwards help, chipped away at Denver’s lead and introduced it again to fifteen, 58-43.
Edwards ramped up his depth. He began to drive to the basket and make fast selections after pick-and-rolls, which resulted in a stupendous layup. Nonetheless, his capturing woes continued; he missed three photographs earlier than the make. Edwards’ attacking nature opened up extra space for his teammates.
On the 6:40 mark, Edwards took the ball up after a Murray miss and burst into the lane, drawing a triple crew from the Nuggets. Edwards rose towards the rim earlier than flipping the ball to McDaniels, who knocked down a nook three. The three would reduce the result in 9, 59-50.
Minutes later, Karl-Anthony Cities stole the ball from Nikola Jokic, and Edwards flew down the ground for a dunk, forcing the Nuggets to name a timeout. That dunk reduce the result in 4, 61-57, on the 3:05 mark. The Nuggets solely had eight factors up till this level within the quarter.
Two-and-a-half minutes later, Edwards stripped Murray and flew down the ground once more for a transition dunk. On the following Wolves possession, Edwards solely had one defender guarding him because the clock ticked away within the third quarter. Aaron Gordon accepted the problem as Edwards danced earlier than stepping to the aspect, hitting a three-point shot with simply over one second left on the clock.
That might be Edwards’ first three of the evening.
Jokic missed the halfcourt heave, and the Wolves had been down only one level, 67-66, and had all the momentum.
The Wolves would take the lead simply 12 seconds into the fourth when Conley fed Gobert for a layup. Minnesota would by no means path once more after this shot, and it will be the primary lead they’d for the reason that 1:42 mark within the first quarter.
The fourth quarter was backwards and forwards, with the Wolves and Nuggets matching basket for basket. Minnesota’s sport plan appeared easy: Permit Edwards to attract the double, then assault Denver inside. The Nuggets gave the ball to Jokic and let him run your entire offense. Each methods labored to perfection. Gobert and Reid wore down Denver’s inside protection, and Jokic performed magnificently on the opposite finish.
On the 4:49 mark, Murray hit a jumper off of a Jokic help, and the Nuggets trailed by three, 85-82. Reid missed a 3 on the next possession, and Gobert’s rebound ended up in Edwards’ arms. He missed the layup, and Reid corraled the rebound and drew a foul. With the lead again to 5, Reid blocked Jokic on the defensive finish. Edwards lined up a 3 and missed. A steamrolling Reid snagged the rebound and tipped it in to extend Minnesota’s result in seven.
That brings us to the place we began. Murray took the go and trapped at halfcourt. Conley dribbled to the wing, Naz received the go, and Edwards drilled the shot to deliver the result in ten. Within the closing three minutes, it was by no means unsure. Edwards even waved to the group as the result grew to become extra sure.
Edwards didn’t have the sport folks anticipated. He didn’t rating 60; he shot 6/24 for simply 16 factors. However he had eight second-half rebounds. He additionally made the game-sealing three. Most significantly, Edwards confronted a number of the most aggressive double groups and hedging on protection of his profession and completed with seven assists to only one turnover. Edwards was +11 in an eight-point win.
Generally superstars have dangerous video games, however how they reply usually determines who wins the sport. At simply 22, Edwards responded with poise. He trusted his teammates, put stress on the protection, and in the end led his crew to victory in Sport 7 towards the defending champions and a three-time MVP.
“For me, being right here 9 years, I’ve seen every thing and –” Edwards interjects, “Man f*** them 9 years.” Cities makes an attempt to maintain his composure as Edwards says, “This yr!”
Edwards is true: This yr might be the yr. The Wolves want eight extra wins. They are going to fly house to face Dallas within the Convention Finals, one thing they haven’t completed in 20 years.
The Timberwolves are again, and everybody should deliver they ass to Minneapolis.
