With the Minnesota Timberwolves’ season on the brink after one of the quietest offensive nights of the postseason for Anthony Edwards, their 23-year-old star defended his approach in Monday’s 128-126 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.
“I don’t look at it like I struggled, or [Julius Randle] struggled,” Edwards said. “They just, 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 had his second-lowest scoring total of the postseason with 16 points and tied his fewest shot attempts, finishing 5-for-13 from the field (1-for-7 on 3-pointers).
“I don’t really look at it like I struggled,” Edwards continued. “I didn’t get enough shots to say I struggled, so that might be how you guys look at it. But, yeah, I didn’t struggle at all. I just made the right play.”
After scoring 30 points or more in the past two games, it’s certainly fair to say Edwards was contained — especially in the first half, when he scored only four points on 1-for-2 shooting.
After averaging 22.4 shots in the first round and 19.8 in the second round, Edwards has attempted 17.3 shots per game against the Thunder so far.
“It’s an urge that I want to get the ball in the rim, put it up there,” Edwards said. “But you don’t want to take bad shots and get your team out of rhythm. So I was just playing the game the right way, man.”
Wolves coach Chris Finch said Edwards was 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.”
