Timberwolves turn feisty, surge away from Rockets propelled by 41 points from Anthony Edwards

From their head coach Chris Finch, on down through the roster, a competitive fire exists in a lot of Timberwolves.

For some, that flame is flickering outwardly. Take Jaden McDaniels, who two seasons ago connected his right fist with the concrete wall in a tunnel near the Wolves bench, and who is never afraid to mix it up with opponents. His good friend Naz Reid also mixed it up Thursday night, exchanging words with Jae’Sean Tate and receiving a shove from Jock Landale during the second half.

“I grew up in those type of games,” Reid said. “So I’m never going to shy away from those moments. I’m sure none of us are.”

For others, the fire is smoldering beneath the surface. That’s Mike Conley, the reputed nicest guy in the NBA. But Conley will tell you, there are few who want to win more than he does, and he showed that after dislocating another finger on his right hand — his second such injury in the past few weeks — before returning to sink pivotal shots down the stretch of his team’s 127-114 victory over the Rockets.

Then there’s Anthony Edwards, who is a combination of both. Even when he’s having fun, smiling and hyping up a crowd, it is out of a love of competing and winning. He will put his body on the line the same way as Conley, and he did, hitting the deck multiple times en route to 15 free-throw attempts. Then when prodded, he will confront an opponent the same way McDaniels and Reid did, when Dillon Brooks got under his skin in the first half.

“He played dirty. He a competitor. I love the competing part, but all the sleek little dirty [stuff] … I just don’t like that part,” Edwards said, describing an incident when Brooks hit him in the face. “Don’t do something and act like you didn’t do it. I love all the competitiveness … but when you get to doing that, it’s more than basketball at that point.”

Thursday seemed like more than a basketball game for the Wolves; it felt like a referendum on their heart and toughness. They answered the challenge. Any time the upstart, scrappy Rockets pushed, they pushed back. Any time they talked, the Wolves talked back, and they ultimately had the last laugh. Edwards scored 41 points, including 11 straight for the Wolves in a masterful fourth quarter that they won 35-16. After one bucket, he made sure to let Brooks know about it as they went down the floor.

Conley had 16 points, including five straight in the final minutes after dislocating that finger. He left the game, popped it back in and played as if nothing was bothering him.

“We’re tough, we’re resilient. We have to be,” Conley said. “We’re in a position now where we’ve had an up-and-down year and we’ve had to deal with a lot of noise, outside, all the things we had to deal with and we stuck together through it all at this point. A game like tonight, it just kind of encompasses all our physicality, our ability to not let things take us out of our rhythm.”

This happened on a back-to-back, after the Wolves came into the season saying they were going to rest Conley at times in these situations. But down Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, they needed all Conley could give them.

“Mike’s the ultimate warrior, competitor,” Finch said. “We’re often asked the question, are we going to sit him? And he’s very reluctant to do that. Sometimes we might have to be proactive in taking care of him, but the way we’re shorthanded right now … we just need those minutes.”

They needed everything Edwards could give them as well. Several times Edwards fell to the floor attacking the rim. He wanted to make the Rockets pay any time center Alperen Sengun (16 points, minus-21) covered him. He still had enough energy in his legs to hit a number of jumpers down the stretch. He had 16 points in the fourth quarter and passed Karl-Anthony Towns for most 40-point games in team history. He also became the youngest player in league history to hit 1,000 three-point shots. This followed a 49-point game Wednesday.

BOXSCORE: Wolves 127, Rockets 114

NBA standings

There was no fatigue Thursday. He had Brooks to thank for that.

“Once me and Dillon Brooks got into it, the fatigue went out the way,” Edwards said. “At that point, you can’t use that excuse. Somebody try you, you try them back. At that point it’s time to hoop.”

His teammates followed suit, including Jaylen Clark, who has been a revelation the past week off the bench. Clark had a career-high 17 points on four threes. Rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. pitched in with five points, including a thunderous dunk, in his first significant playing time of the season. The Wolves shot 48%, but they hit the offensive glass for 26 second-chance points. They played with a desperation and fight that sometimes appears to be missing and other times goes overboard. They pitched those qualities at just the right intensity Thursday.

“Sometimes they let emotions get the best of them,” Finch said. “But I’d rather have it that way because you know down there, there’s something that’s driving them.”