Timberwolves fade away late against champion Boston Celtics, lose 118-115

Anthony Edwards drove around Boston’s Neemias Queta late in the fourth quarter, and for once in the Timberwolves' 118-115 loss Thursday to the Celtics, there wasn’t a second defender there to meet him.

Edwards had a clear path to the hoop. All he had to do was put the ball in the net. But perhaps the lack of attention was startling to him. He missed the layup with 1 minutes, 50 seconds remaining, a miss that loomed large in a one-possession game.

The Wolves lost a game in which they shot 54% from three-point range, and while the constant double teams Edwards sees helped create those open looks for teammates (he had six assists), they limited him.

Edwards had 15 points and was only 5-for-16 from the field, the latest in an up-and-down stretch in which Edwards’ scoring has been inconsistent. For every night he’s shot well, there’s another like he had Thursday, or a night like his 6-for-20 performance against the Spurs on Sunday, when those double teams keep him from getting going. When it came down to the final shot of the game to tie the score at the buzzer, Edwards had no rhythm, and his three clanked off the left side of the rim. He was 2-for-9 from deep.

“Y’all watch the game and I don’t know what’s going on,” Edwards said. “They just trapping me, man. I don’t know what to do. I’m not gonna lie.”

Coach Chris Finch and Edwards’ teammates were complimentary of him after the game, saying Edwards has mostly been making the right plays when faced with extra defensive attention.

“He’s doing a really good job. It’s tough. I know it’s frustrating,” said Julius Randle, who had 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. “But that’s just the player that he is. He’s that special that nobody is going to guard him straight up. We gotta continue to try to help him out.”

His third quarter was a prototypical example of this. After an awful second quarter the Wolves lost 34-16, they won the third 34-29. Edwards took one shot but had five assists that summed up his frustration. The Wolves played well, and Edwards played team basketball, but it comes at a cost to his enjoyment of the game. As he said Thursday, he’s “wired” to score.

“That was a good brand of basketball, but it’s not how I want to play, of course,” Edwards said. “I’m only 23, I don’t want to be just passing the ball all night, you feel me? … But the way that they’re guarding me, I think I have to.”

It’s especially hard for Edwards to have these kinds of nights given the Wolves’ opponents this week. He watched Thunder MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up 40 on the Wolves on Tuesday, then watched as Boston’s Jayson Tatum put up 33. These are Edwards’ peers, and it’s been frustrating for him to watch their performances knowing he’s capable of putting up those numbers himself.

“It’s definitely frustrating to see these guys cooking us and I can’t cook them,” Edwards said. “Whatever their adjustments are. They’re doing a good job, 100%, of keeping me from doing what I want to do out there.”

Derrick White added 26 for the Celtics, including a pair of threes that provided enough separation down the stretch. Could Edwards work more off the ball? Could he do more to get the ball back once he passes out of a double team? To hear him say it, the double teams will follow him in almost any situation, and it’s wearing on him.

“Eventually there’s gonna be two, three people,” he said.

BOXSCORE: Boston 118, Wolves 115

Naz Reid had 20 points off the bench and Jaden McDaniels had 19 to go with eight rebounds. A good chunk of those points came from Randle’s assists and because of the attention Edwards drew. Edwards making the right decisions in the face of a lot of attention was the formula to the Wolves winning a pair of playoff series last spring. He was still able to get his points in those games. What’s the solution now? Edwards is still searching.

“It’s hard to beat two NBA players. These dudes are NBA players. It’s not like high school or middle school,” Edwards said. “These dudes, 6-foot-8, 6-9, long strong, athletic. Then they funneling me to the dude who 8 feet tall at the rim. It’s crazy.”