SUMMARY
- The Timberwolves handed over the Nuggets a 45-point loss while Anthony Edwards led the way.
- Edwards claimed Chris Finch help motivate him to get him going for Game 6.
Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves have pushed the defending champions to Game 7 and this is about to get fairly exciting. The Denver Nuggets managed to briefly take the lead in the first quarter before the Wolves completely obliterated them on defense. Nikola Jokic and his squad were held to 70 against 115.
Anthony Edwards came back strong after experiencing an awkward slump over the last few games. He scored 27 points along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. “[Chris Finch] did a great job this morning. He told me don’t lose my aggressiveness even though they [were] doubling me. He was like Phoenix did the same thing. Find ways to be aggressive, get off of it, get it back, and be aggressive. So that’s all that was on my mind walking into the arena tonight,” he said following the game.
Edwards played for 44 minutes in Game 5 but the Nuggets held him down to 18 points. Additionally, the Wolves allowed the Nuggets to take a 3-2 lead despite winning the first two games of the series. It was Edwards who had to step up for the team, but so did the Wolves’ bench. They scored 36 points while Naz Reid led the pack with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Anthony Edwards believes everybody on his team is a leader
Besides Anthony Edwards, the rest of the starting lineup made minor contributions that went a long way. Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert worked the boards finishing with a combined total of 27 rebounds. Despite facing an Achilles injury in the previous game, Mike Conley came back in full swing finishing with 13 points shooting 3-6 from deep.
Jaden McDaniels back doin crazy stuff on defense pic.twitter.com/a5k0yExNx2
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) May 17, 2024
However, Edwards claims Jaden McDaniels was truly who led the team to a 45-point victory. He said, “He led us tonight. Like I told somebody before, everybody on our team is a leader. And he was the leader tonight. He stepped it up big time.” McDaniels had 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal. He has shown a lot of willingness to play hard and push the pace of the game averaging just over 10 points per piece in the starting lineup.
The Timberwolves held the Nuggets to a shockingly low score total
A 45-point deficit was certainly not what the Nuggets had in mind especially after they were the first ones who put clamps in Minnesota’s top-notch scoring. With the Nuggets only scoring 70 points, they became the first team since the 2010 Boston Celtics roster to score 70 points or less in a playoff game.
“This is what I was talking about the other day: We get a lead and get comfortable. Keep your foot on the gas.”
Anthony Edwards’ leadership on full display in Timberwolves-Nuggets Game 6 💯pic.twitter.com/byCCpdyAq9
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 17, 2024
Anthony Edwards also made sure to stay vocal on the floor while asking his team not to get comfortable with any sort of lead. The Wolves need to maintain a rhythm and find a way to remain aggressive against every move the Nuggets make to counter them. Unfortunately, the Wolves won’t have a home-court advantage while the Nuggets take it over to the Ball Arena in Denver.