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The Minnesota Timberwolves faced a tough challenge in their recent game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, losing 128-126 in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. Anthony Edwards, the team's 23-year-old star player, had a quiet night on offense, but he still stood by his performance.
After the game, Edwards explained his thoughts on how he played. “I don’t think I struggled, and I don’t think [Julius Randle] struggled either,” he said. “The Thunder had a solid game plan that made it hard for us to score. They really focused on me, but I made the right choices all night.”
Edwards scored 16 points, which is one of his lowest totals in the playoffs. He shot 5-for-13 overall and only made 1 out of 7 three-point attempts.
“I didn’t really struggle,” he added. “I just didn’t get enough shots to say I had a bad game. You might see it differently, but I think I played well by making the right plays.”
In the previous two games, Edwards scored over 30 points, so it was surprising to see him held to just four points in the first half of this game. He had been averaging a lot more shots in earlier rounds, but against the Thunder, he’s taken fewer shots per game.
“I really want to score and help my team,” Edwards said. “But I also don’t want to take bad shots that could mess up our rhythm. So, I just tried to play the game the right way.”
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch noticed that Edwards improved as the game went on. “In the second half, he was more aggressive,” Finch said. “He started driving to the basket more. We also got him off the ball a bit, which helped. When he got into the paint, he made some good passes. In the first half, he was a little slow, and we needed him to be more involved to help stretch the floor. But he definitely played better in the second half.”
Overall, even though it was a tough game for Edwards, he kept a positive attitude and focused on making the right plays for his team.