Timberwolves stave off Rockets in 113-106 win capped by two Anthony Edwards dunks

After Sunday’s loss to the Bulls, Anthony Edwards said he had tired legs. As Tuesday’s game against Houston unfolded, it didn’t look like a day of rest helped that situation.

But Edwards’ legs were working just fine when the Wolves needed it most.

Edwards struggled to shoot all night, but he exploded for two dunks late to cap a 113-106 victory over the red-hot Rockets, who had won 11 of 12 coming into the night.

Edwards had only two points in the first half and didn’t make a field goal until there were 6 minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the third quarter. He finished with 21 points on 5-for-16 and went his third consecutive game without hitting a three (0-for-6).

But he saved his best for last, exploding for a dunk with just under a minute to play to seal a game that became close in the final minutes.

If you’re wondering if his confidence is lacking, don’t.

“In the playoffs, that … is going to be butter,” Edwards said, referring to his jump shot.

Houston had cut a 98-83 Wolves lead to 101-100 before Mike Conley hit a floater and the Wolves got a stop at the other end. On the next possession, Edwards found a crack in the defense and drove down the lane for an authoritative dunk that put the Wolves up 105-100 with 50.9 seconds to play.

He then capped the night with a steal and another dunk and went 11-for-11 at the free-throw line. As Edwards worked through his late-season struggles, coach Chris Finch said he was happy with the shots Edwards was taking. Edwards lamented three threes he said went in and out. But Finch is hoping to see Edwards operate a little quicker to get himself going.

“This happens. It’s a long season,” Finch said. “He’s going to have to keep working. I thought he took good shots for the most part. … But he has to pick up his decisionmaking. Everything’s got to go back to being quicker. A little bit more in transition, a little bit quicker off the catch and keep trusting the catch and shoot.”

For the rest of the night, his teammates picked him up.

BOXSCORE: Timberwolves 113, Houston 106

NBA standings

Naz Reid helped revive a slumbering offense in the first half on his way to 25 points and six rebounds while the bench took over from there. Kyle Anderson provided a spark late in the third and early in the fourth with 13 points while Jordan McLaughin stayed hot from the outside with 11 points, and 3-for-4 from three-point range. Jalen Green had 26 to lead Houston.

After scoring only 16 points in the first quarter, the Wolves went to a ball-handler guard rotation of Conley, McLaughlin, Anderson, Nickeil Alexander-­Walker and Rudy Gobert and they scored 15 points in a little over five minutes.

“I love when that unit’s in the game,” Anderson said. “It’s gotta be quick passes, less pick-and-roll, less pounding the ball, less [isolation]. You just gotta move the ball and wait for the defense to relax and you attack them.”

That set in motion how the offense played the rest of the night, which is largely how the offense has played since Karl-Anthony Towns went out because of a left knee injury. The Wolves have relied on crisp ball movement to generate open shots, and they have been hitting at a decent clip. The Wolves were 55% from three-point range when factoring out Edwards’ 0-for-6.

“Everybody gets a chance to get a shot up and everybody is happy for one another, everybody wants to see the next guy flourish and be great,” Reid said. “So I think everybody has that mindset to where we all just want to see the next guy flourish within a win.”

They have made something that should be hard look easy — play good offense when their two best offensive players, Edwards and Towns, either struggle or don’t play.

“That’s the idea of the game of basketball at the offensive end,” Finch said. “Share it, move it, find the open guy.”