Anthony Edwards is probably not the very best participant to return out of Georgia, as the purpose guard stated Walt “Clyde” Frazier advised him throughout pregame warmups.
Nevertheless, he was the very best participant at Madison Sq. Backyard on Friday night time.
In what was a sizzling capturing night time for the Timberwolves, the two-time All-Star led the pack with 36 factors, going 12-for-21 from the sphere in Minnesota’s 116-99 win over the Knicks to assist them climb again to .500.
He additionally added 13 rebounds and 7 assists that helped stop the Knicks from getting a win over two former gamers — Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo — who have been traded for Karl-Anthony Cities.
“I was happy [with his performance],” Edwards stated after the win. “My best friend texted me before the game just trying to motivate me, like, ‘Bro they have tried us again.’ Someone on media was saying something about me. I’m not on social media, and he sends me the little posts. He just texted me, ‘Whatcha gonna do?’ So, I had to show up for him. He don’t usually text me with stuff like that. So, that was my motivation.”
The 2020 No. 1 choose didn’t begin out sizzling, nonetheless. He shot 1-for-7 within the first quarter earlier than getting right into a rhythm.
However nothing was extra notable than Edwards’ show-stopping dunk to make the sport 96-89 with almost 7 minutes to go.
He beat Jalen Brunson, who was serving to off of a choose, driving into the paint and going over Treasured Achiuwa for the wild poster dunk. Within the three minutes previous to the basket, the Timberwolves went on an 11-2 run, and Edwards scored or assisted on all 11 factors.
Edwards additionally was deadly from deep, capturing 8-for-13, which has been an enchancment for him this season.
He’s capturing extra (9.9 3s per sport) and making extra (42.3 %) this yr in comparison with his 35 % on 6.7 makes an attempt a yr in the past.
“He’s really committed to taking more 3s,” coach Chris Finch stated previous to the sport. “We’ve always been telling him he is really good at it. He used to pass up a lot of open 3s to kind of maybe play with the ball in a different rhythm. He’s got to shoot 3s. Always been a great weapon, and now he just trusts it more.”
