SUMMARY
- After the Timberwolves lost Game 3, Anthony Edwards took blame for his lack of energy that impact the matchup's outcome.
- Edwards was limited to 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a block.
Anthony Edwards has shown us what a true leader is supposed to do, especially when they’re the ones who underperformed. Despite being 22 years of age, the dominance Edwards has shown over the last couple of games has been brilliant, Michael Jordan-like as some people have said. But Game 3 against the Denver Nuggets at the Target Center was quite the letdown.
After two impactful performances at the Ball Arena, the Minnesota Timberwolves guard took the entire blame for Game 3’s loss. He said, “I don’t know man, it’s on me. I’ll take the blame for this loss. I came out with no energy at all. I came in flat and I can’t afford to do that for my team. I let my team and my coaches down, fans down. I’ll be ready Sunday.” The Nuggets took a 0-2 smack early in the playoffs making Game 3 a must-win.
Anthony Edwards isn’t upset about losing Game 3
After a fairly competitive first quarter, the Timberwolves took a fall during the rest of the game allowing the Nuggets to take a double figures lead. Props to the Nuggets as they did a good job limiting the amount of looks Edwards got as he finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and a block. But Edwards isn’t upset about losing to the Nuggets in Game 3.
“It’s a series, bruh, we good” – Anthony Edwards pic.twitter.com/fvSZlqkWPS
— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) May 11, 2024
“I like the fact that they punched tonight, and we didn’t punch back. That’s the thing about [basketball], that’s fun. You go out to compete. So, it should be very competitive [on] Sunday. We’re going to be here for it,” he told the reporters during a locker room interview. Unfortunately, none of the other Timberwolves starters scored over 15 points. Nikola Jokic had 3 steals and 3 blocks during the game including a couple of impressive defensive plays.
The Denver Nuggets got the best of Anthony Edwards
The Timberwolves’ bench unit is one of the strongest groups left in the playoffs. But this time, the Nuggets’ bench outscored the Wolves’ 23-21. Jamal Murray also bounced back from a horrible Game 2 performance finishing with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Murray managed to put clamps on Edwards throughout the game, while sneakily securing a steal and following it up with a dunk midway through the fourth quarter.
Jamal Murray rips Anthony Edwards from the blind side and *elevates* for the dunk.
Hard to not feel encouraged by what we’ve seen from him, both performance-wise and physically. pic.twitter.com/MQuMyAJPep
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) May 11, 2024
Jokic also had an incredible game while becoming the first player to achieve a 24-point, 14 rebounds, and 9 assists stat line with 3 blocks and steals. “There’s no reason to be negative. They won one game, and we’re going to try to win the next game. This is the first to four games. Not the first to lose one,” said Edwards regarding their first loss of the playoffs. The Nuggets will face the Wolves once again at the Target Center for Game 4 before heading back to Denver.