Anthony Edwards already knew he wasn't playing well, but in case he needed any reinforcement to confirm that, the Timberwolves coaching staff challenged him entering the fourth quarter vs. Golden State.
"We told him it was time for him to wake up and start playing," coach Chris Finch said. "He wasn't in attack mode most of the night."
Edwards didn't take long to activate "attack mode." He scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter of a 126-114 victory Thursday. It's the Wolves' fourth victory in a row — their longest winning streak of the season, the current longest active winning streak in the NBA and the franchise's 1,000th victory.
"When [Finch] told me I was like, 'All right, I'm going to go out here and see what I got,' and it happened," Edwards said.
Edwards wasted little time taking over in the fourth, scoring 16 in the first six minutes. He had it going from deep (3-for-6 from three-point range in the quarter) and when he attacked the rim. He quickly turned a 91-89 Wolves deficit into a 106-99 lead.
The Wolves were then able to keep Stephen Curry from going bonkers down the stretch despite his 37 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, and Ricky Rubio finished with a season-high 26 points. Former Wolves forward Andrew Wiggins had 27 points in his first game back in Target Center.
To Rubio, Edwards' night is emblematic of where the Wolves can go if the rookie brings that type of effort on a consistent basis.
"This team is going to be as good, for real, as Ant wants it," Rubio said. "We know what KAT can bring to the table. We know what [D'Angelo Russell] can bring to the table, but Ant, he has to bring it every night."