David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards had yet another eye-popping performance in Sunday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough help to keep up with the depth of the Nuggets as the Timberwolves suffered a 115-107 loss on their home floor at the Target Center that tied the series 2-2. The road team has been victorious in every game in the series.
Edwards was sensational with 44 points on 16-of-25 shooting for his third 40-point game of the postseason. He had 37 through the first three quarters alone and added five rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. However, Mike Conley was Minnesota’s second-leading scorer with just 15 points. Karl-Anthony Towns was limited to 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting with 12 rebounds. Rudy Gobert chipped in 11 points and 14 rebounds.
The Nuggets kept up the momentum from their Game 3 victory with another blazing performance from the field. Denver finished with 57.0 percent shooting from the field and 44.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokić led the way with 35 points, 16 of which came in the fourth quarter, seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block. Aaron Gordon supported him by scoring 27 points on 11-of-12 shooting, and Jamal Murray added 19 points. The team got 27 combined points off the bench from Christian Braun, Justin Holiday and Reggie Jackson.
Edwards would’ve loved to have that type of production from his supporting cast. Fans on social media were not happy with how his teammates let him down in Sunday’s loss:
Kevin O’Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
Anthony Edwards should be taking almost every single shot for Minnesota in this 4th quarter. No one else is scoring.
Jon Krawczynski @JonKrawczynski
Anthony Edwards had 44 points, 5r, 5a. He played 45:20. The Wolves won those minutes by 5. They lost the 2:40 he sat by 13 points
Zach Harper @talkhoops
The Wolves should be fined $100k for every possession Ant doesn’t touch the ball
Kevin O’Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
Anthony Edwards: 16/25 (64% FG)
Everyone else: 23/57 (40.4% FG)
Disastrous Game 4 by Minnesota’s supporting cast, especially with Denver’s going off. KAT had no business taking 18 shots. If this happens again Edwards will need to take 30+ shots for the Timberwolves to win.
Doug Gulasy @DougGulasy
Anthony Edwards looking for some teammates to step up and give him some help. pic.twitter.com/W5OBDHq4wX
Mýa Melody @MyaMelody7
Anthony Edwards has 37 points… the rest of the team is looking funny in the light 🙃
#fo8️⃣3️⃣💔 #foKC💙 @codacblue
Can somebody help Anthony Edwards please
Brock Kline @swishbk6
Without Anthony Edwards going “young Jordan” and scoring 23 in the first half – on 9-12 and 3-4 from 3 – this game would be SO OVER. It took that to keep the TWolves within 15.
Faris Odeh🐺💫🇨🇦🇵🇸🇸🇾🇯🇴 @TheFarisOdeh
Anthony Edwards is looking for HELP
Sir @DDOCSIR
KAT while Anthony Edwards out there fighting for his life pic.twitter.com/KLldjAG1bm
Don Dada @playboi_4
Anthony Edwards is great, Karl Anthony Towns, Alexander-Walker, and McDaniels are doing their best to offset Ant’s greatness tonight
Rell’s Island @RellBeKillinEm
Somebody besides Anthony Edwards gotta step up if they want a chance. Denver in 6 tho too much experience…
The hot-shooting by the Nuggets also earned some praise on social media:
Rich Hofmann @rich_hofmann
This is one of the most impressive team-wide shooting performances I can remember.
Hardwood Paroxysm @HPbasketball
This one is in the pantheon of Joker games.
He was so bad in Game 2, went to Minnesota and went back to work.
Vincent Goodwill @VinceGoodwill
Jokic has entered the “Olajuwon Zone”, folks. Thats what Minny was afraid of
NBA Memes @NBAMemes
Nuggets bench three-point shooting tonight pic.twitter.com/DC5MqSx6Bi
Dillon Pomeroy @dillonpomeroy
Nuggets are shooting something like 113% right now, impressive
Edwards has been the breakout star of the playoffs, but he can’t do everything by himself. If any of his teammates brought their best on Sunday, Minnesota likely would be looking at a commanding 3-1 series lead.
The Timberwolves will try to take back the momentum in Game 5 in Denver on Tuesday.
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