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The Minnesota Timberwolves' bench scored 64 points on Monday night. Jaden McDaniels, Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid combined to shoot 13 of 22 from 3-point range. All of the miscellaneous battles -- second-chance points, fast-break points, points in the paint -- went the Timberwolves' way.
Based on those stats, you would think that the Timberwolves cruised past the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals in the exact same way they did in Game 3. Instead, the Thunder escaped with a 128-126 win to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.
How was that possible?
Well, here's one more stat: Anthony Edwards had as many turnovers (five) as made field goals.
The Timberwolves' star guard has made back-to-back All-NBA teams, but he's still only 23 years old and is facing one of the best defenses in recent memory without a reliable co-star. Amid such circumstances, Edwards is struggling to come up with consistent answers.
Edwards only took two shots in the first half in the Game 4 loss, which was the second time in his career in which he's had two or fewer field goals in a first half in which he played at least 10 minutes. The other was on Jan. 22, 2024, the night when Karl-Anthony Towns scored a career-high 62 points.
"Second half was more aggressive, he got downhill, we got him off the ball a little bit more," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "When he got to the paint I thought he found some people, made the right plays. I think first half he lagged behind a little bit too much. He needs to get out in front so we can stretch the floor and screen for him a bit. But second half was much better."
All told, Edwards finished with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field, four rebounds, six assists and five turnovers. His five field goals were tied for the second-fewest in a playoff game in his career, and his 16 points were tied for his third-fewest in a playoff game.
The very first possession of the game set the tone for how the Thunder were going to guard Edwards in Game 4. After the Timberwolves won the tip, Luguentz Dort immediately began face-guarding Edwards near mid-court. Edwards had to push and shove like he was a defensive lineman trying to shed a block just to get the ball from Rudy Gobert. And after using a high screen, Edwards was trapped 35 feet from the basket.
There were numerous possessions in the first half where the Timberwolves essentially played four-on-four while Edwards stood on the wing or near halfcourt with his hands on his hips and a defender in his face. When Edwards did have the ball, he was seeing multiple defenders every time he put the ball on the deck.
"Seemed like they went back to how they were playing in Game 1 and Game 2, just in the gaps super, super heavy," Edwards said. "No matter what. My guys were making shots, they still were in the gaps."
Early on, Edwards let the Thunder's approach largely take him out of the game, which was a big reason why the Timberwolves went into halftime down by eight. After the break, Edwards was more determined to assert his influence. The Thunder still did everything they could to prevent him from scoring, but when they doubled or collapsed on his drives, it created countless open shots for his teammates.
"Definitely not the points I wanted to get, but they didn't really let me get too many shots off," Edwards said. "They did a good job of that. Every time I had the ball they showed me a major crowd. Just making the right play, getting off of it, and my guys hit shots tonight."
Good things happen for the Timberwolves when Edwards is controlling the offense. Finding the right balance between taking what the defense gives you and forcing the issue is difficult, but Minnesota would rather have him making those decisions than standing off to the side watching.
It's hard to find much fault with the Timberwolves' overall offensive results in Game 4, but it is fair to wonder whether they would have dug themselves a hole if Edwards had been more aggressive from the jump.
"I don't look at it like I struggled," Edwards said. "I didn't get enough shots to say I struggled. That might be how you guys look at it, but yeah, I didn't struggle at all. Just made the right play."
However you want to describe Edwards' performance, or divvy up the blame (or credit), the fact of the matter is he wasn't at his best in Game 4. The Timberwolves need him to be on Wednesday in a must-win Game 5 back in Oklahoma City.