After being upset by the Warriors at home in Game 1, Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves won Game 2 by a margin of 117-93. For the Wolves, who led the game from start to finish, the biggest scare of the night came when Edwards had to leave the game in the second quarter after re-injuring the left ankle that he had previously hurt in Game 4 of the first round.
The injury occurred when Warriors big man Trayce Jackson-Davis stepped on Edwards’ ankle after meeting him at the rim for a block. Head coach Chris Finch immediately feared the worst.
“This one, I was really planning on not seeing him the rest of the game, to be honest with you,” Finch said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
The Wolves managed to hold off the Warriors, who were missing their own star in Stephen Curry after he left Game 1 with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, for the rest of the half while Edwards got worked on in the locker room.
“Once we got to like the third movement in my ankle, I’m like, ‘All right, it’s starting to feel good. If we tape it, I’ll see how it feels,'” Edwards said. “[Wolves VP of medical operations and performance David Hines] does a great job of making sure I’m good before I get out there, so big shoutout to David.”
Edwards was able to return to the game in the second half and lead the Wolves to their commanding victory in a game he called “the biggest game of our career.” Afterward, he told reporters he planned on being good to go for the crucial Game 3 in Golden State — he’s not listed on the injury report for Saturday’s contest.
Here’s more on the Wolves:
- Mike Conley is known for his stoic floor generalship, but in Game 2 of the series against the Warriors, he made a point to set a tone, both in terms of defense and demonstrativeness. “I just wanted to really show the guys I’m going to do whatever I can for the team, sacrifice,” Conley said, per The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “That’s all I was focused on for the majority of the game. I know our guys kind of fed off the energy I was bringing.” The Wolves, led by Edwards and Julius Randle, are a team built on defense, trash talk, and a chip that never leaves their shoulder. With Minnesota 1-0 heading into the game, Conley focused on channeling that energy to bring out the best in the team. For at least one game, the strategy worked.
- Timberwolves coach Chris Finch took umbrage with the level of physicality in Game 1 of Minnesota’s second-round series with the Warriors, particularly when it came to the contact Golden State was able to inflict on star big man Rudy Gobert. Despite a relatively similar number of overall fouls called (Minnesota had 21 to Golden State’s 18), Finch wasn’t satisfied. “We sent a bunch of those clips into the league. In fact, I’m not sure I know another player in the league with Rudy’s pedigree that is allowed to be physically beaten on the way he is. And so, we’ve got to address that one way or another,” Finch said, according to McMenamin. He wasn’t the only one frustrated, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr had his own litany of complaints, especially in regards to how Curry was guarded before getting injured. If Game 2 of the series is any indication, the clips sent in didn’t have much of an impact, as the Wolves were called for 22 fouls that led to 25 Warriors free throws, while the Warriors were called for 16 fouls that led to 20 Wolves free throws.
- Game 2 also saw a Minnesota fan ejected from the game, and another one leave voluntarily before they could be ejected. In a press release (via Twitter), the Timberwolves cited the fan “… Violating the NBA Fan Code of Conduct in an incident involving Draymond Green.” The second fan was alleged to have made racially charged comments at Green, though Wolves reporter Chris Hine reported (via Twitter) that the first fan may have been the one to use that language. Kerr thanked the Wolves organization for how they dealt with the unfortunate situation. “The Wolves handled that beautifully and Draymond is handling it well,” he said.
- Rookie point guard Rob Dillingham has been upgraded to questionable for Game 3, per Timberwolves PR (via Twitter). Dillingham has missed the previous eight games with a right ankle sprain. The 20-year-old scoring guard was only averaging 3.8 minutes from the beginning of March onward, so he may not play even if he’s active.
Eli, the score never got too close?
The Warriors closed within seven in the fourth-quarter. Not sure your statement is accurate in your article here.
That was midway through the third quarter, and I’m not sure I agree that briefly cutting the lead to seven points qualifies as getting “close,” but that sentence was a little awkward anyway, so I tweaked it.
I guess that’s true because it seemed like as soon as the Warriors cut it to 7, it jumped back to 15 and then 20 in short order. Oh well, I admit my homerism can be strong at times.. lol
Dillingham is a nice young guard. I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten more playing time. Even during the season. He could have helped with offense.
What I see as a weakness in Minny. Is the lack of a true PG. AE is not one. He handles the ball cause he draws the defense. Therefore opens up the floor for other players . That’s not playing the point. Too many teams now think a playmaker who can score. Can run the offense. Or you can run your offense off him. It’s not the same thing. If Minny had a true PG. Rudy and Randle would be abusing the munchkins. And would make this an easier series for Minny. Even with Curyy.
Agree. Mike is getting too old to run the point full time. I would have liked Rob to get more playing time during the season. He looked really good in the time he did get. I’m hoping for big things to come from him in the future. I’m hoping he’s learning a lot from Mike.