Before Game two against the San Antonio Spurs, Anthony Edwards warned his teammates about the danger of relaxing after stealing Game one on the road.
Unfortunately for Minnesota, Edwards believes his team ignored the message completely.
“The natural tendency for teams that steal the first game, the away team, they get blown out in Game 2,” Edwards said before the game. “We can’t come out cool.”
The Timberwolves were overwhelmed from the opening quarter in a brutal 133-95 loss that evened the Western Conference semifinals series at one game apiece.
Minnesota scored just 17 points in the first quarter, committed 22 turnovers and quickly fell apart against a desperate Spurs squad led by Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox.
“We came out cool,” Edwards admitted afterward. “Look what happened. My momma used to tell me that a hard head make a soft ass. That’s what happened tonight.”
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was even more direct following the 38-point defeat.
“We just got punked,” Finch told his team after the game.
“Punked is crazy,” Edwards responded. “But, I mean, just look at the film and see what we can gain from it.”
San Antonio’s defensive pressure completely disrupted Minnesota’s offense throughout the night. The Spurs aggressively trapped Edwards near half court, pressured ball handlers full court and forced the Timberwolves into rushed decisions and stagnant possessions.
“They was playing crazy, right?” Edwards said. “Watch film, find the holes in it. We didn’t make enough shots to get them out of it.”
Finch also criticized the Timberwolves’ offensive execution, saying the team spent too much time “dribbling and going nowhere.”
“Got to get off of it,” Finch said. “Got to use it as a catalyst for ball movement, what it should be. I thought we dribbled to tough spots. I thought we were late getting off it. I thought our spacing around it wasn’t really good.”
When asked about Finch’s comments, Edwards didn’t argue.
“I don’t know. I got to watch the film,” Edwards said. “But he’s the head coach. I’m with whatever he says. So if that’s what he said, that’s what we were doing.”
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