The 7-2 Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, in yet another convincing defeat of a Western Conference monster with its full complement of weapons, including Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins all available.
Timberwolves ran away from Warriors in 2nd half
But a somewhat back-and-forth contest started to look more like a lopsided Timberwolves victory when Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns took over early in the 3rd quarter and the Warriors could not keep up. From there, it was mostly Wolves.
Anthony Edwards has that fire that those old school killas like Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan played with. He takes the onus upon himself. The skill and athleticism is a bonus. pic.twitter.com/X1ZEmSEylu
— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) November 13, 2023
Related: NBA Scout Believes Anthony Edwards is Next Michael Jordan
When the dust settled on a 116-110 Wolves win, KAT posted 21 points, 14 rebounds and 2 steals, while Ant contributed 33 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals of his own. But anyone watching the game Sunday knew one thing.
Anthony Edwards is the dude for the Minnesota Timberwolves. But Edwards’, by his own admission, was having a rough night from the field, midway through the 4th quarter.
Draymond Green talks trash to Anthony Edwards
Still, the Wolves lead by double digits and Golden State was trying to muster one final push. Unfortunately, any chance of that happening was eliminated when Draymond Green decided to run his mouth at Anthony Edwards, after fouling him on a fast break, with 5:25 left on the game clock. Bad idea.
LEAKED Audio Of Anthony Edwards Trash Talking Draymond Green After A Foul👀:
— LegendZ (@legendz_nba) November 13, 2023
Edwards: “Ain’t nobody worried about you, bruh… You’re the only one that wanna be tough”
Green: “You’re not tough, n****” pic.twitter.com/6LeKImTDty
Anthony Edwards would go on to score 10 of the Wolves’ next 14 points, many of them on Draymond, not to mention an assist that prompted two more of that 14-point total. That final stretch ballooned Ant’s point total on the night and all but iced the game.
Poor decision by Green
It’s totally possible the blossoming Timberwolves superstar would have had that same type of grand finale, even if Green keeps his mouth shut. But there’s no doubt the Warrior’s antagonizer lit an extra fire under Edwards, for that stretch run.
What’s more: the Warriors and Timberwolves matchup again on Tuesday night, in the same spot (Chase Center). This time, the game is part of the new NBA Cup in-season tournament.
Minnesota, riding high on a 6-game winning streak, could have been caught flat footed, in their second game straight vs the same opponent, in the same city. That sort of thing happens, even at the highest level of sports.
Related: Timberwolves are Bill Simmons’ Sleeper; Top-5 in His NBA Power Rankings
But after the exchange above, do you think Anthony Edwards is going to walk into the arena tomorrow night with his guard down? Haha, hell no. Wolves by 20.