MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Edwards was the breakout star of the first two rounds of these NBA playoffs, holding the audience in the palm of his hand with an easy smile and a cutthroat competitiveness. The television ratings, the social media views and, most importantly, the wins were coming for him as the Minnesota Timberwolves surged to their first Western Conference finals in 20 years.
Now a team that has dealt with adversity admirably all season long finds itself in its biggest hole yet, and Edwards and his All-Star teammate Karl-Anthony Towns are the biggest reasons that they are down 2-0 to the Dallas Mavericks.
Edwards was 5 for 17 in a 109-108 loss in Game 2 on Friday night and had as many turnovers (two) as field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter as the Wolves let another late lead slip away. He is shooting 29 percent from the field in his last three games, including a 6-for-24 performance in the Game 7 win over Denver last round.
Towns was 4 for 16 and was benched for much of the fourth quarter in favor of Naz Reid, one of the rare Wolves to have any success against the Mavericks’ active defense. Through two games, Edwards and Towns are shooting 30 percent from the field and have scored just 71 points.
On the other end, the Mavericks’ two stars have come to play. Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving are shooting 46.6 percent and have combined to outscored Edwards and Towns 115-71 in the first two games of the series.
That’s it. That’s the series so far. The Wolves have lost their two home games by a combined four points. Their stars have been terrible on the offensive end. If KAT and Ant combine to go 10 for 33 instead of 9 for 33, they win Game 2 and head to Dallas feeling OK. But they have been nowhere to be found when the Wolves need them most, and so the climb gets so much steeper now.
“I don’t think anybody in the locker room is panicking,” Edwards said. “I hope not. Just come out and play our brand of basketball. We let ‘em make a run.”
Minnesota led by 18 points in the first half, but a nasty habit of closing quarters poorly resurfaced again when Dallas finished the second quarter with an 8-2 burst to get the deficit to a manageable 12 points. The Wolves still led by seven going into the fourth quarter, but it took just over 90 seconds for the Mavericks to wipe that out and jump in front.
Dallas outscored Minnesota 61-48 in the second half, shooting 60.5 percent from the field against the No. 1 defense in the league. Everything comes so easy with Dončić and Irving orchestrating their offense. Even when their shots aren’t falling, they are setting up teammates for lobs at the rim or wide-open 3s. They have been here before. They are comfortable in the spotlight.
This is all new for Towns and Edwards, and it’s shown in the first two games. Edwards’ two turnovers in the fourth quarter each directly led to Mavs 3s, one for Irving and the game-winner for Dončić.
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This is not the Anthony Edwards that was captivating the entire league for most of these playoffs. The Mavericks appear to have taken all of the mojo he had in the first two rounds and squeezed it out of him. He is trying to solve a puzzle he has never seen before, and it is paralyzing him.
“They’re just showing me crowds, man, sitting in the gaps,” Edwards said. “But I’m turning down a lot of shots, like my mid-ranges and stuff. I’m turning a lot of those down. But we’re getting open looks, so I ain’t trippin’.”
But he does look flummoxed by the Mavericks’ approach. The Wolves led 108-106 with 15 seconds to go and the ball in Edwards’ hands. Normally, that would be exactly what the Wolves wanted, riding the athleticism, the feel and the guts of their 22-year-old All-NBA guard who can bend a defense to his will. He has not been able to do that in this series, as evidenced by the crushing turnover that came with 12.8 seconds to go.
Edwards picked up his dribble at the free-throw line while surrounded by Dallas defenders. He stopped, turned and couldn’t find any openings. He tried to step through to create some space, but when that didn’t open up an angle for a shot, he forced a bad pass in Reid’s direction and turned the ball over.
That was all Dončić needed.
LUKAAA 🎯 pic.twitter.com/Gf30ye0emm
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 25, 2024
Towns may be six years older than Edwards, but he is equally inexperienced on a stage this big. He was terrific for the Wolves in the first two rounds, saving his best basketball for closeout wins over Phoenix in Game 4 and Denver in Game 7. But it hasn’t been there against the Mavericks, who have the rim protection that the Suns and Nuggets lacked. Towns started Game 2 0 for 4 and picked up two fouls and had to go to the bench less than five minutes in to the game.
Reid came in and steadied the offensive ship, hitting his first five 3s. His quick decision-making stood out while Towns and Edwards each held the ball looking for options. So it really didn’t come as a surprise when Finch decided to play Reid all 12 minutes in the fourth.
“I’m with winning, so whatever it takes to win,” Towns said. “Naz has it going. Coach’s decision, I’m fully supportive of my coaching staff. Wouldn’t question them one bit. Of course I’m always going to be ready to play whenever he calls. Naz got it going, our team was playing well.”
Finch needs Towns to settle into the game from the jump, like he did in an invaluable performance against Denver. The game seems a little fast for him right now, and it is bringing some of the old goblins out of the attic: rushed shots, missed assignments, drives into traffic.
“With KAT, I think he’s just got to calm down,” Finch said. “I think he’s coming out of the gate pressing a little bit, maybe getting off on the wrong foot and then chasing the game.”
It was telling that the final shot of the game did not go to one of the team’s franchise players, but instead to Reid, who finished with 23 points on 7-for-9 shooting from 3. He got a clean look off of a pass from Edwards, but it hit just off the back of the rim to miss.
“I almost passed out. That was looking good, too good,” said Dončić, who had 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. “He couldn’t miss today.”
The two All-Stars weren’t the only Wolves who struggled in Game 2. Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert switched out onto Dončić on the final play, but rather than trying to funnel him inside the 3-point arc for a shot that could, at worst, tie the game, Gobert allowed him to get that 3 off.
“They believed in me to get a stop and he scored,” Gobert said. “And he scored a 3, which is something that he does very well. So, I’m definitely taking that responsibility that I need to be better in that situation.”
Finch also said he erred by not calling a timeout late in the fourth to get Mike Conley back into the game for a reliable ball-handler. He also said he could have tried to get Edwards a break at the start of the fourth quarter after he played all 12 minutes in the third. The unit that started the final period — Towns, Edwards, Reid, Conley and Kyle Anderson — gave up an 8-0 run that put the Mavericks back in front.
Edwards played 40 minutes in the game, heavy for a regular season tilt against Toronto, but not for this stage of the playoffs.
“It’s the Western Conference finals, man. You can’t look to hide people or try to take breaks,” Finch said. “I don’t see Kyrie shying away from a matchup out there. It’s what you’ve got to do if you want to win.”
Finch wants to see Edwards recapture the sharp decision-making he displayed in the first two series. He is hesitating out there right now, looking every bit the 22-year-old that he is. Almost every great player goes through trials like this in their youngest days. So maybe this is just Ant’s turn. But the Wolves can’t afford for youth to be the excuse right now.
“He’s gotta pick up his decision-making,” Finch said. “I think Kyrie is actually a good example – he’s playing quick off the catch, he’s trying to beat our defensive pressure with everything on the catch, going quickly.”
Now a team that has dug deep all season long, never more so than when they dropped three straight games to the Nuggets and trailed in the last series 3-2, will have to dig deeper than ever. Game 3 is on Sunday in Dallas. Dončić can sense his first NBA Finals appearance just sitting there to be had.
The thing is, the Timberwolves can reasonably tell themselves that things can be turned around. They are 3-4 at home in these playoffs and 5-1 on the road. And the first two games in this series have not been blowouts. Dallas has not dominated. They have just been a little bit better late in games to earn the victories.
The poor performances from Edwards and Towns can, on one hand, be reassuring. The Wolves lost Game 1 by three points and Game 2 by one and they didn’t have anywhere close to normal performances from their two best offensive players. If that changes in Game 3, the Wolves can get right back into this series.
“We’re playing in the Western Conference finals,” Towns said. “You’ve got the four best teams in the NBA playing right now. Just got to do a better job of executing and finding ways to get it done.”
(Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
