Timberwolves overcome Anthony Edwards injury to top Thunder
Anthony Edwards was a force until he left the game with an injury. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was excellent per usual. Rudy Gobert and Minnesota native Chet Holmgren gave fans their money's worth in the paint. Tuesday night's In-Season Tournament game between the two of the best teams in the NBA was a thriller, with the Timberwolves topping the Thunder 106-103.
In the fourth quarter, with Edwards out after a hard fall on his right hip and Karl-Anthony Towns getting a breather after picking up a fourth foul, the Timberwolves got big contributions from Troy Brown Jr., Kyle Anderson and Naz Reid.
Anderson was the composer, directing the offense and giving Minnesota a calm veteran presence. Reid hit a big 3 and a turnaround hook shot, but Brown Jr. was the hero, hitting two huge 3-pointers, pressure free throws, pulling down a critical rebound and putting a dagger in the Thunder with a hanging layup with 31.6 seconds to go to give Minnesota a 103-98 lead.
Holmgren, who in 2021 was the Mr. Basketball winner as the top high school player in the state, answered with a 3 with 26.6 seconds remaining to trim OKC's deficit to 103-101.
The Thunder fouled Towns with 12.9 seconds left and KAT hit them both.
Final key stats
- Anthony Edwards: 21 points, 5 rebounds in 28 minutes
- Troy Brown Jr.: 17 points (12 in the fourth quarter)
- Rudy Gobert: 17 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocks
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 6 turnovers
- Naz Reid: 15 points, 7 rebounds
- Mike Conley: 9 points, 8 assists
- Kyle Anderson: 7 points, 5 rebound, 2 assists
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points and Holmgren finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in his first pro game in his home city.
The win gets the Timberwolves to 13-4, sitting alone atop the Western Conference standings.
The victory in the In-Season Tournament game put the Timberwolves at 3-1 in West Group C, but they are highly unlikely to win the point differential tiebreaker over Sacramento, Golden State and Phoenix to advance to the knockout rounds.
Nov 28, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) in the.first half at Target Center.
Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Anthony Edwards suffers hip contusion
The Thunder went on a 13-3 run in the second quarter to build a 12-point lead and they held Minnesota back for the next dozen minutes or so before Edwards erupted in the third quarter with 11 straight points, tying the game at 64-64 with 7:34 left in the third.
But then Edwards crash-landed. Literally.
Still in attack mode, Edwards went hard to the hoop and lost balance in the air, slamming his right hip into the hardwood. He stayed in the game and hit one of two free throws before the pain was too much to play through and he was taken to the locker room for medical attention.
He later returned to the bench but put on a jacket and kept it rest of the game, with the team saying his return was questionable because of a right hip contusion.
Up next: Timberwolves vs. Utah Jazz, Thursday at 7 p.m. CT.
