Anthony Edwards was able to get baskets for the Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
Timberwolves smashed by 76ers as Joel Embiid can't be stopped, scores 39 points
76ers star Joel Embiid came within one point of outscoring the entire Timberwolves team in the third quarter, which was a good indication of how the night went for Minnesota.
March 8, 2023 at 12:46PM
The problem for the Wolves was nobody else felt like doing so.
The Wolves had one of their limpest offensive efforts of late in a 117-94 loss to the 76ers, with Edwards getting almost no help from his teammates in terms of scoring.
Joel Embiid took advantage of the Wolves turning him into a jump shooter with 39 points, seven rebounds and four assists. It was a performance that had Edwards, who scored 32, in awe after he and Embiid swapped jerseys following the game.
"MVP. Most Valuable Player in the NBA, for sure," Edwards said.
But as Edwards can attest, scoring in the 30s isn't going to win a game by itself. On that front, 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey stepped up for a resting James Harden. He played a commendable second fiddle to the virtuoso Embiid with 27 points. Anyone who tried to play second fiddle for the Wolves was out of tune.
No other Wolves starter had more than seven points as the Wolves shot 40% for the night.
The other four starters — Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley — were a combined 7-for-25.
"We could've helped ourselves a little bit more," Anderson said. "But shots definitely didn't fall. We didn't shoot the ball as well. I think we could've made a lot of the easier plays that they were giving us. They did a good job of taking away what we do well, but we've got to be able to adjust to get it some other way. That's what good teams do."
Embiid had 22 in the third quarter while the Wolves had 23 as a team. The game was tied 43-43 with 4 minutes, 32 seconds left in the second quarter when the 76ers went on a 15-2 run the rest of the half. The Wolves would have gone scoreless in that stretch if not for Edwards beating the buzzer with a layup. They never cut the lead under double digits in a listless second half.
"We've been hitting shots. We've been shooting great from the three-ball," Edwards said. "Nights like this are bound to happen. You got to get over it, look to the next game. Hopefully, we're back to ourselves."
Anderson, Edwards and Rudy Gobert all took individual blame for the offense and their own performances postgame. Anderson thought he should have maybe looked to make more plays for his teammates. Gobert felt like he was trying to do too much offensively and didn't make passes when they were available. Edwards also thought he didn't pass enough.
"I got to be able to get off the ball. I didn't have any assists," said Edwards, who had one assist. "I wasn't in much of a passing mind-set. I got to come out passing the ball and get my teammates involved. I got to do a better job of that for sure."
The question for the Wolves going forward is how often will these nights occur, especially with no timetable for Karl-Anthony Towns' return. As currently constructed, the Wolves are lacking a true prime second scoring option alongside Edwards until Towns comes back. They were able to make up for that with good defense and ball movement that led to enough shots falling for three consecutive wins.
That win streak came to a crashing halt because nobody else besides Edwards could score. There were things the Wolves will glean from this, like getting back to the ball movement that made them so successful, but they also hope Tuesday was just one of those nights.
"Sometimes you have nights like this," coach Chris Finch said. "This is a pretty typical comeback from a road trip and play at home. It's no excuse, but we're not going to overreact to it."
The players communicated through a group text chain to pull themselves out of a four-game losing streak. But the thread is used for other ways to bond and build camaraderie.
