It was a valiant effort to seal Game 1 from the Minnesota Timberwolves but almost is never enough. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving outclassed every defender that they came across. Any person that Chris Finch placed on the Dallas Mavericks' star duo was guaranteed to be famished by half of a quarter. The loss was still narrow but it was a big blow to their NBA Playoffs hopes. So, Anthony Edwards went out to take accountability.
Anthony Edwards is a guy with no filter. He talks his trash and calls out a lot of individuals if he has to. But, there are instances where he puts his head down to the Timberwolves faithful and vows to do better. This 105 to 108 loss to the Mavericks was one of those times. He outlined his dismay while still having a positive outlook in this NBA Playoffs series, via NBA on TNT.
“I think we just came out flat today. We found our energy and went back to being flat. So, I think it was on us. Everything was on us today. I did not get downhill as much. Yeah, just stuff like that. We were just tired probably,” Anthony Edwards declared.
The Timberwolves' star guard was not producing like his normal self against the Mavericks. He went six for 16 from the field and committed three big turnovers to turn the tide in favor of the Luka Donic-led squad. There were still some bright spots in the Timberwolves' loss. Anthony Edwards still managed to sink five out of his 12 three-pointers to keep this squad in the game.
Moreover, the Timberwolves star guard still got to do a lot of the dirty work while only scoring 19 points. He was able to notch a double-double with 11 rebounds and got to drop eight assists. Despite looking tired while defending Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, his attentiveness to their movements led him to steal the ball twice.
Timberwolves get molly-whopped in the clutch
After Luka Doncic delivered a bomb of a 14-foot step back, the Timberwolves would no longer have answers on offense. Only Naz Reid's shot to tip the ball in was their last-minute bailout. Aside from that, their offensive sequences involved two missed free throws from Mike Conley and a broken play with 1.1 seconds left on the clock.
The Timberwolves were always in striking distance. But, like what Edwards said, they were tired after having to guard two of the most shifty guards in NBA history.
Doncic hunted the drop coverage scheme and disallowed any defender from getting in front of him. This spectacle, albeit a spammy type of play, was highly effective. He knocked down 12 out of his 26 field goals which more than covered up for him going 30% from three. All of this added up to 33 points as he also dropped eight rebounds. On the defensive end, three steals were the product of his efforts to hound the Timberwolves.
Kyrie Irving, on the other hand, took Edwards' challenge very personally. He may not have scored a single three-pointer but his shots found the bottom of the net 12 out of 23 times for 30 points. Doncic and he also combined for two blocks in this NBA Playoffs matchup.
The Timberwolves have kept it close which means they have a shot at winning Game 2.
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