Because in addition to feeling the constant pressure to carry the offensive load, Edwards was applying the pressure on defense in an effort to make things difficult for Nuggets guard Jamal Murray.
“Getting in the best shape of my life,” cracked Edwards, whose team has dropped three in a row in the series. “So it’s fun.”
The Nuggets dared anyone not named Edwards to beat them as they took a 3-2 lead in the second-round series with a chance to close out the Timberwolves on Thursday night in Minneapolis. The strategy worked, in part, because Anthony had fewer clear looks at the basket. The Timberwolves were also missing Mike Conley, who was ruled out before the game with soreness in his right Achilles.
“They’re just playing better than us right now,” Edwards said. “They’re playing harder than us. They’re getting all the loose balls. Everything's going their way. They've got the momentum, man. We’ve got to figure out a way to shift it back our way.”
Karl-Anthony Towns had a solid night despite appearing to tweak his left knee in the first half, finishing with 23 points. Rudy Gobert, too, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds. But by keeping Edwards in check on 5-of-15 shooting, the Nuggets limited the damage and built a lead that stretched to as many as 18 points.
With so much attention surrounding him, Edwards resorted to passing and finished with a team-high nine assists. But it was his instant offense the Timberwolves were in desperate need of late in the game. He had four points in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve got to do a better job making it easier for him,” Towns said of Edwards. “It’s executing at a higher level. The guys in the other locker room here are executing at a championship level in these last three games. They’ve shown when you’re executing at that level what the results will be.”
So dominant on defense in the first two games, winning two in a row in Denver by keeping the Nuggets under 100 points, the Timberwolves have found it tougher to contain the connected Nuggets ever since. Denver has averaged 114.7 points over its last three games.
“Their guys are making shots,” Edwards said.
Pat Graham, The
