San Antonio Spurs supernova and reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama made league history by blocking 12 shots against the Minnesota Timberwolves in an electric Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Despite Wemby’s heroics, the chronically scrappy Timberwolves stole Game 1 with a 104-102 win at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Monday night.
Timberwolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards wasn’t fazed by any of that.
“Ah, man, I made so many mistakes at the end of the game,” Edwards said on the court after the final buzzer during NBC and Peacock’s broadcast. “I’m disappointed in myself.”
Edwards is clearly not an objective narrator. It’s almost unconscionable that he’d criticize his performance in a game he wasn’t supposed to play in at all. Edwards suffered a bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee on April 25. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the following day that he was “expected to miss multiple weeks,” but he made a stunning return for Game 1 on Monday.
Edwards finished with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor (2-of-3 from three), three assists, and three rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.
Again, he couldn’t have been less impressed by himself.
“For me, man, 75% of the game is my mind,” Edwards said on NBC. “My mind gotta be where it needs to be, and the last two minutes of the game, it wasn’t. I gave up two offensive rebounds, turned the ball over, yeah, I’ll be better.”
The Wolves held a nine-point lead with just under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Spurs made a late push. One of Julian Champagnie’s offensive rebounds led to a bucket that cut Minnesota’s lead to 102-98 with 1:07 left, and Wembanyama skied for a dunk with 43.6 seconds left.
After Edwards’ turnover with 32.8 seconds, Dylan Harper dunked to bring the Spurs within two points, but Champagnie missed a three-pointer as time expired, and the Timberwolves escaped.
When asked what fans can expect for the rest of this high-octane series, Edwards said, “We just gotta stay locked in on the game plan, especially myself. I can’t give up two offensive rebounds to Champagnie. I may not be as athletic as I usually am, but I’ve gotta be able to box out and make those small plays to win the big-time games.”
The Timberwolves have developed an innate knack for winning big-time games over the past three years. Minnesota is trying to reach the Western Conference Finals for the third straight year. The franchise has never appeared in the NBA Finals.
If Game 1 is any indication, the Spurs and Timberwolves are in for a dogfight to make the Western Conference Finals. I’ll take six more games of that, please.
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