Anthony Edwards starred on opening night as the Minnesota Timberwolves saw off the Portland Trail Blazers 118-114 at Moda Center. ANT returned with 41 points and seven rebounds as the Timberwolves produced a commanding fourth-quarter comeback to finish things off.
Post-game, Edwards’ teammate Joe Ingles had a simple explanation for what went down, with ANT producing a mid-range jumper that helped the Timberwolves open up the four-point lead with less than seven seconds on the clock.
“Welp. That’s what happens when you have the best player,” he said per The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski.
Edwards proceeded to untuck his jersey after the shot and shouted at the Moda Center crowd. Ingles reacted with an exaggerated wide-eyed look post the shot. However, it was his comments later that perfectly summed up what the Trail Blazers went through.
ANT’s 41 points is a franchise record for points in a season opener. He was questionable for the game due to back spasms but led all scorers at halftime with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
He scored 10 fourth-quarter points on 4-of-4 shooting, the same number of makes Portland had as a team in the period. His late shot sequence was decisive: a step-back to cut it to 107–105, a three for a 108–107 lead with 3:36 left, another three for 114–112, and a Rudy Gobert dunk with 32.1 seconds remaining to close it out.
Minnesota trailed 61–57 at halftime and by seven after three because they did not get enough stops. Early foul trouble limited Gobert to under 13 first-half minutes, and Portland attacked the rim and the foul line freely.
For Portland, Jerami Grant came off the bench to top-score with 29 points as Deni Avdija produced 20 as a starter. For Minnesota, Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle added 18 and 19 points, respectively, with Gobert finishing with 10 points and six rebounds.
The Timberwolves will now take on the Los Angeles Lakers on October 24.
