MINNEAPOLIS — The celebratory atmosphere was briefly interrupted as the crowd at Target Center waited silently as Anthony Edwards lay face down after falling into the basket from a drive.
Chants of “MVP” rang out as the former football player slowly stood up, winced a bit, then immediately threw two free throws.
Then he clapped his hands and sat in a defensive stance, continuing to go after Jamal Murray like a defensive back who gave his wide receiver a bad day.
“I fell pretty hard. I'm used to falling like that when I'm on pads in football, so I'm protected,” Edwards said after the game, with a familiar glint in his eye. . “I definitely felt that way because I wasn't wearing pads tonight. It took me a while to get used to the pain, but I'm fine now.”
Edwards didn't expect to feel sore in the morning, and he didn't know the Minnesota Timberwolves would lose after suffering a blowout loss to the champion Denver Nuggets two days earlier.
That bliss is very likely overshadowed by resilience, and what appears to be competitive ignorance is very likely a recognition that opportunities don't need to be wasted.
The Timberwolves did more than just extend their season and give the NBA its first Game 7 of the second round with a 115-70 victory in Game 6 on Thursday.
What this series lacks in classic finishing, it makes up for in intrigue. This series has already been in the spotlight three times, with last time the champion Nuggets asserting themselves at home for the first time in this showdown behind a stellar performance from Nikola Jokic.
The NBA's popular series is now heading into a Game 7 that could become a classic.
“As a competitor, I feel like this is one of the best in the world,” Edwards said. “I've never played a Game 7 on the road. But the whole playoff experience on the road was so much fun because no one's on your side. So I can imagine how this game is going to go.”
If you believed the Nuggets had the winning shot in Denver, you were sadly mistaken. Especially since they were up 9-2 and it looked like it was going to be a repeat of Games 3 and 4, where the Timberwolves had to play perfectly to keep the game close and the crowd left the game early. I guess they relaxed a little.
That wasn't the case here, with the Timberwolves leading by 24 points in the first half and leading by as many as 50 points in the second half.
“They beat our butts,” Jokic said simply.
This group has a short memory, but that's what makes the Champions and Challengers series so interesting. The Nuggets know the Timberwolves are coming, and they know he's after them. In fact, the Nuggets may know better than the Timberwolves how good they are — and now it looks like the Timberwolves are discovering it themselves.
“Guys just believe in themselves. The last three games we've been putting ourselves down and trying to point fingers and blame somebody,” Edwards said.
And during a film session this morning, the coaches put together clips of what the Timberwolves did in their first two games, and it felt just like two weeks ago when they swept those two games at Ball Arena.
“We put together the edits and everyone started believing,” Edwards said. “You can see the energy has changed. It was a big time, I told them it was a big time.”
“We talked a lot about getting our edge back, playing with swagger and playing more freely and at ease,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We didn't give our best effort on both sides of the ball. We left a lot of meat on the bone offensively the other day. You know it's going to be a long series and that's the fact. has been proven.”
That energy transfers from the practice facility to the game, and in a series that seemed to have a little bit of everything together, it looks like it can hold out until Game 7, when anything can happen.
That 9-2 lead quickly turned into a 22-2 run for Minnesota, with the Wolves living up to their nickname in one corner — an enthusiastic and skilled defenseman, Jaden McDaniels and Nickell Alexander-Walker. has resumed its role as a disruptor.
On the offensive side, McDaniels led the way with 21 points and three triples, the same as Alexander Walker, and showed patience and composure, making timely shots from both wings where he had been having trouble shooting.
“We got Mike Conley back, that's it,” Edwards said.
Conley missed Game 5 with an injury to his right Achilles tendon, but he looked a lot like himself after the break. He also hit three triples and scored 13 points with five assists.
“I know the two best teams are fighting and clashing every night,” Conley said. “You never know who's going to come out. One point win, 30 point win, five point win, both teams are going to adjust. Getting to Game 7 is the most important part of this season. is”
It also freed up Edwards, who had been swarmed by three defenders two days earlier, to return to the attack.
Edwards only scored 27 points, but he had a huge impact, especially in the early stages when the Timberwolves rallied. He dunked in the open floor and hit pull-up threes, but he looked nothing like the Game 5 interim player.
“Last game I was trying to get people involved and be aggressive, but with Mike's play I don't have to worry about getting people involved,” Edwards said. “That's his job.”
Edwards may not yet be the best player in this budding rivalry, aside from Jokic in his prime and the 22-year-old Edwards, but he plays an important role — because he's one of the two players here. Because it's directly tied to the X factor: Karl-Anthony Towns is on his side and Murray is across from him.
Whether injury-related or because of Edwards' tenacious defense, Murray got off to a 1-for-10 start, and by the time he got going, the game was out of reach. –Well, by halftime it was clear the series was headed back to Denver.
However, Murray was restless even when the game was a win (4-for-18 at-bats, 10 points), and Jokic also failed to produce his signature performance on Cole, scoring 22 points and nine rebounds in 36 minutes. did. This is where Towns comes in, as Edwards continues to pour in positive reinforcement and accountability at the same time. Towns is Jokic's primary defender, keeping Rudy Gobert at the rim and helping in other spots, but Gobert can't do that if Towns remains in foul trouble.
“He's done a great job all series. The biggest thing is, like I told him in the Phoenix series, his butt stayed out of foul trouble,” Edwards said. Ta. “I yelled at him every chance I got, stop being a fucking foul. Look at you guys. If KAT doesn't foul, we win every game. You've done a great job against Jokic. Ta.”
Towns could be pretty sloppy with his offensive mismatches, but he was patient, assessed the defense, and swung at open shooters. He didn't hit at a high clip, but if he plays right he has a chance – especially when the wing attacks the Nuggets' poor rim protection.
Towns only scored 10 points in 29 minutes, but added 13 rebounds and five assists, and committed just three fouls.
Edwards was rumored to have told Denver's ball boy on his way out of the locker room that he would be back for Game 7, and in true Edwards style, he backed it up.
“Yeah, I told him, 'See you in Game 7,'” Edwards said.
Game Start.
