Anthony Edwards needed to get aggressive to salvage the Minnesota Timberwolves season Saturday. He delivered a dominating first quarter, and embarrassed the Oklahoma City Thunder right away.

The star guard poked the basketball out and turned turnovers into two points. He only missed two field goal attempts. Edwards also nailed a trio of three-pointers.

Edwards showed how locked in he was. He blitzed to a 16-point outburst in the first quarter with these numbers.

Edwards showed a nose for the basketball. The Thunder watched his explosiveness in transition. He even hit a long-range basket then delivered the steal-and-dunk on consecutive possessions.

The perennial NBA All-Star cooked the Thunder early by scoring seven points at the midway point of the first. All before settling on the 16 at the end of one. Minnesota kept its foot on the gas pedal from there.

Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves build massive lead over Thunder at half

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) dribbles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the first half in game three of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
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Minnesota and Edwards looked nothing like the team that fell in both games at the Paycom Center. They brought an onslaught inside the Target Center.

The T-Wolves took a commanding 72-41 lead into halftime. Edwards simmered in the second quarter. He scored just four points in the next period. Except he walked into halftime with 20 points on the stat sheet.

Edwards hit NBA Playoffs history in the process. He's delivered the fourth-most 20-point halves over the last three seasons.

The host team, meanwhile, showed a “desperate” and “controlled” style of basketball as noted by NBA reporter for The Athletic Tony Jones. The insider added how the T-Wolves' biggest star produced a “statement” opening period. Former T-Wolves director of digital content Shahbaz Khan even joked “Demon Anthony Edwards” pulled up to Game 3.

 Edwards already passed franchise legend Kevin Durant in postseason points. That feat came before Saturday. Edwards even has battled losing money via fines. But he got his team roaring back in a massive way during the first half.