For the record, the Timberwolves lost Wednesday at Target Center. It was 139-135 Memphis, a game in which the Wolves trailed by as many as 13 but led by a point with 3:04 left, a loss due to too many turnovers and not enough defensive rebounds down the stretch.
Loss to Memphis spoils another special night for Timberwolves rookie Anthony Edwards
The Wolves rookie tied his team record, putting on a show alongside Ja Morant.
By Star Tribune
May 6, 2021 at 4:39AM
OK, now that we've got that out of the way.
The story wasn't really who won or lost but instead the theater provided by Wolves rookie of the year candidate Anthony Edwards and reigning rookie of the year Ja Morant.
Back and forth, all night. Out-of-this world efficiency. Morant primarily driving, Edwards both attacking the rim and hitting from outside.
Edwards with 42 points, Morant with 37, the two of them combining for 79 points on a combined 47 shots.
It was a thrilling 48-minute ride in which Edwards willed his team to the brink, but Morant helped push his team over the hump.
"He was great," Wolves coach Chris Finch said of Edwards. "He played determined. Decisive."
Said teammate D'Angelo Russell: "He's coming into his own, it's obvious."
Finch called it Edwards' best game. He has scored 42 points before — Wednesday he matched his franchise rookie record — but this was special. He made 17 of 22 shots. He made eight of nine three-pointers, setting another rookie record. He had a career-high seven assists, plus six rebounds. Against a physical Memphis team that exacts a price for drives to the basket, Edwards was unabashed.
"Once he realized they were just going vertical at the rim, [that he] wasn't getting a whole lot of whistles, he did a great job of finishing," Finch said. "And, obviously, he was confident in his three-point shot."
It wasn't enough for a few reasons. The Wolves never protected the rim, allowing 72 points in the paint. Morant finished with a 37-point, 10-assist double-double. At one key stretch of the fourth quarter he scored seven straight Memphis points, ultimately feeding Desmond Bane for the clinching three-pointer with 35.5 seconds left.
But Wolves fans watching the game had to come away with a good feeling about a future that includes Edwards, who is making a strong late push for top rookie. Not that he worries about that.
"I just want to go out and win and have fun and play basketball," he said.
It was two out of three Wednesday. The only blemish might be his getting only one shot in the final four minutes as Karl-Anthony Towns (22 points despite being limited to 24 minutes because of foul trouble) and Russell stepped forward. Starting for the first time since returning from injury, Russell had 22 points and 14 assists.
The Wolves led 128-127 after Towns' three-point play with 3:04 left. But Morant answered with his only three-pointer of the game, then scored again after a Wolves miss. The Grizzlies (33-32) never trailed again.
As his rookie season comes to a close, Edwards' game continues to grow. Especially his ability to finish against tough teams like Memphis.
"You gotta know what they're giving you, because sometimes it's hard to finish because they might foul you and you won't be able to get the ball up," Edwards said. "You just gotta use the rim. I just the rim as a shield the majority of the time."
Edwards scored 14 points in the first half, 28 in the second, when he shot 11-for-14. A sign of further growth?
"I don't really know," Edwards said. "It's a good game. They bring physicality, they bring energy. They're going to try to punk you, so I feel like it brings the toughness out of you for sure."
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