Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Anthony Edwards Shares His Perspective on Battle vs. Celtics Star Jayson Tatum
Monday night at Target Center, the Boston Celtics, the last of the NBA's unbeaten teams, suffered their first loss of the season, a 114-109 overtime defeat against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In the battle between the league's highest-scoring offense and top-rated defense, the visitors failed to register 30 points in any quarter and got held to single-digits (eight points) in the five-minute fifth frame.
Still, Jayson Tatum generated a team-high 32 points, pairing it with five steals, matching his career-high. That included producing ten points before the midway mark of the last 12 minutes of regulation, propelling the Celtics to a 90-90 tie.
However, inexplicably, they got away from the four-time All-Star. What made it even more confounding is that even their offense going cold didn't lead to them getting the ball to their best player. Granted, the former Duke Blue Devil's not blameless in this.
Unfortunately, it's not a new problem for Boston. But as the team looks at the film from this game, having a better feel for a situation like this the next time it presents itself needs to get hammered home.
What it set the stage for was Anthony Edwards, who started taking over the game in the third quarter, quickly manufacturing six points, but then had to sit due to foul trouble, going supernova in overtime.
The former first-overall pick erupted for eight points in the period, single-handedly matching the visitors' output. What made his fifth-frame performance even more impressive is that with him one foul away from exiting the contest, the Celtics repeatedly targeted him.
Not only did Edwards hold up without picking up his sixth foul, but the stops Minnesota was getting, including two Boston turnovers, allowed the former Georgia Bulldog to attack in transition, where he's lethal.
And once he regained his rhythm, there was no stopping him.
After the win, Minnesota's burgeoning star discussed going head-to-head with Tatum, who on Saturday became the youngest player in Celtics history and tenth-youngest player in NBA history to score 10,000 career points.
"One of the best players in the league," Edwards expressed about the two-time All-NBA First Team selection, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
Regarding Monday's battle between the two, he conveyed, "He was talkin' smack at the jump ball at overtime. And I told him, '(expletive), I'm comin' again.' Luckily, he called me up for an iso and tried to iso me, and I'm like, 'I play defense, I just got five fouls.'"
Indeed, it was his stellar two-way performance in overtime that carried his team across the finish line against a team that was yet to lose this season.
Further Reading
Here's What Stood Out as Celtics Suffer First Loss This Season in OT Tilt vs. Timberwolves
Jayson Tatum Discusses the Bond Between Him and the City He Stars In
Weighing Whether Celtics Should Sign Danny Green
Here's Where Jaylen Brown Impressed Joe Mazzulla the Most in Celtics' Win vs. Heat
Kristaps Porzingis Gives Glimpse of How He'll Boost Celtics Late-Game Offense
Celtics Embracing Sacrifice in Championship Pursuit: 'Have to Buy into That'
Under Joe Mazzulla, Celtics Rebuilding Brotherhood Between Past and Present
