With the Timberwolves now staring down elimination, Anthony Edwards isn’t hitting the panic button, or even accepting the narrative that he struggled in Monday night’s 128-126 loss to the Thunder.
“I don’t look at it like I struggled,” Edwards said postgame. “They had a good game plan, making us get off the ball. Especially for me, man. They were super in the gaps, I made the right play all night.”
Edwards finished with just 16 points – his second-lowest total this postseason. He also only took 13 shots, tied for his fewest in a game these playoffs. He went 5-13 from the field and just 1-7 from deep. Still, he pushed back on the idea that he didn’t bring it.
“I didn’t get enough shots to say I struggled,” he added. “So that might be how you guys look at it. But, yeah, I didn’t struggle at all. I just made the right play.”
He averaged over 22 shots a game in Round 1. That’s dipped to 17.3 attempts per game against OKC. And it’s not just him dialing it back.
Wolves coach Chris Finch said Edwards got better as the game progressed.
“I thought second half he was more aggressive,” Finch said. “He got downhill. We got him off the ball a little bit more. When he got to the paint, I thought he found some people, made the right plays. First half, he lagged behind a little bit too much. He needed to get out in front so we could stretch the floor and screen for him a bit. But second half was much better.”
Julius Randle was almost invisible, scoring just five points on 1-7 shooting, with five turnovers. He admitted he was stuck in neutral.
“I think it was just a lot me just spectating,” Randle said. “I didn’t take my first shot in the second half until there were 20 seconds left in the third quarter.”
Game 5’s now do-or-die. No more spectating.
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