The Minnesota Timberwolves came into tonight fighting to stay in 1st place in the Western Conference. What the Wolves didn’t know is that they would be fighting against the 15 win Washington Wizards in this game tonight.
From the tip-off Washington came out on fire hitting everything they put up. Kispert, Poole, and Avdija were making some tough shots to start this game out and they were contested with hands from the Timberwolves defenders. The Timberwolves started out slow tonight and the fast paced Washington Wizards took full advantage of it as they were winning the rebound/assist category in that 1st half.
The two players that made it tough on the Timberwolves defense all night for the Wizards was Jordan Poole & Corey Kispert. We know that Jordan Poole can make some amazing shots but the shots he was hitting in that 1st half just didn’t make any sense. Poole was able to showcase his shooting ability with his bright green light as he finished with 24 points and 6 assists. Corey Kispert was making some tough buckets too and finished with 25 points.
After that halftime adjustment from Coach Finch the Timberwolves cracked down on things and started playing their style of basketball. Naz Reid got ejected early in this game as he hit Johnny Davis with an elbow to the head that didn’t look like it was on purpose. Once Naz got ejected Anthony Edwards turned his game up to another level and was unstoppable.
The great thing about this huge performance is that Anthony Edwards still finished with 7 assists showing that he can share the rock with his teammates. Anthony Edwards had the mid range fadeaway working, attacking the rim working, and his 3 point jumper all clicking tonight. Edwards put on a shooting display and was able to put the team on his back all the way to his 51 points which are a career high.
Rudy Gobert was dominant as well tonight finishing with 19 points and 16 rebounds but the huge X-Factor tonight was Nickeil Alexander-Walker. NAW was able to make some big shots in the 1st half to keep the Timberwolves in this one and his play on both sides of the floor was clutch for Minnesota. It sucks that it had to happen when Naz got ejected but this is a huge confidence booster for NAW leading into the playoffs as he was able to help the Wolves in a major way with 23 points off the bench while creating for his teammates.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have a back to back as they will be heading to Denver for a showdown with the Nuggets to see who will get that 1st seed in the Western Conference. It should be a classic especially after this huge performance from Anthony Edwards.
(Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
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