Timberwolves, Rudy Gobert crush Grizzlies but lose Anthony Edwards in process
It was clear early on it was Rudy Gobert’s night.
It wasn’t Anthony Edwards’s.
Gobert was a force offensively and defensively for the Timberwolves, who beat the Grizzlies 127-103 Friday night in Memphis, Tenn., for their sixth straight win.
But Edwards checked himself out during the first quarter and was later ruled out with a right hip pointer, a dark cloud over an otherwise impressive Timberwolves victory.
Edwards originally injured his hip after taking a hard fall against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 28, but he returned on Wednesday and scored 17 points in a victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Edwards said he was initially “scared” and “nervous” while playing through the injury but that it loosened up during the second half. His highlight-reel put-back dunk in the second half of that game seemed to confirm that.
But with the injury flaring up Friday, Edwards was forced to end his night early.
"Very first play, (Edwards) took a hit and came down on an odd angle," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters in Memphis. "It kind of flared up on him, so hopefully we can get him back right."
Without him, Gobert helped ground the Wolves, scoring 16 points and grabbing 20 rebounds, nine of which were on the offensive glass.
"We knew (rebounding) needed to be a priority for us. We also wanted to make a concerted effort to get our own offensive glass," Finch said. " ... We had 15 offensive rebounds, Rudy had nine on the glass by himself, so that was huge."
Gobert's defensive presence was felt once again, too, as he recorded six blocks, his ninth straight game with at least two.
Troy Brown Jr., who checked in for Edwards in the first quarter, and Shake Milton turned in strong performances for Minnesota (17-4) off the bench, scoring 20 and 17 points, respectively, needed offensive production in Edwards's absence.
"I play my role ... trying to give space to the guys in the first half, and I know in the second half teams are going to cover us different. So I get a lot of open shots, and I'm just ready for it," Brown said in his postgame, on-court interview.
Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 24 points, and Mike Conley added 19. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 14, and Naz Reid had 10 points and nine boards off the bench.
Memphis (6-15) was essentially out of the game by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, with both teams letting their bench play out the waning minutes.
Jaren Jackson paced the Grizzlies with 21 points.
Up next: Timberwolves vs. Pelicans, Monday at 7 p.m. CT.
Final key stats
- Rudy Gobert: 16 points, 20 rebounds (9 offensive), 6 blocks, 1 assist, 1 steal
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
- Troy Brown Jr.: 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
- Mike Conley: 19 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds
- Shake Milton: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
- Naz Reid: 10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
