Kevin Durant, Suns Swept By T-Wolves as Anthony Edwards' Dominance Hyped By NBA Fans

Anthony Edwards was two years old the last time the Minnesota Timberwolves were in the second round of the playoffs in 2004, but now he is the face of the franchise that snapped that 20-season drought by sweeping the Phoenix Suns.

Edwards and the Timberwolves finished their first-round victory over the Suns with a 122-116 win in Sunday's Game 4 at Footprint Center. The shooting guard was brilliant with 40 points, nine rebounds and six assists behind 13-of-23 shooting from the field and 7-of-13 shooting from deep.

He was far from the only star who shined bright, as Karl-Anthony Towns (28 points and 10 rebounds) notched a double-double while Devin Booker (49 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals) and Kevin Durant (33 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four blocks) did everything they could for the Suns to avoid a sweep.

The problem for Phoenix was that it was just Durant and Booker, as nobody else reached double digits for the home team. Bradley Beal had just nine points on 4-of-13 shooting and fouled out, coming up short during the season's biggest moment.

Edwards certainly didn't come up short on the other side and drew plenty of love from social media:

Edwards was incredible, but Phoenix had championship aspirations at the start of the season with the Durant, Booker and Beal trio and surely didn't envision fighting just to avoid a sweep in the first round.

At least Booker and Durant provided that fight with a combination of silky jumpers, drive to the lanes and contested three-pointers. Even with nobody else scoring, the combined efforts from Nos. 35 and 1 were enough to build a five-point lead at intermission.

Halftime did nothing to slow down the duo, as Minnesota had no answer for Booker attacking and Durant elevating above the defense to unleash shots.

But the shotmaking reached an unbelievable level on the other side as well during a back-and-forth between all the stars. It helped Minnesota that Edwards and Towns at least had Jaden McDaniels (18 points) to provide some of the help that was missing from Beal and others for Phoenix, but Edwards was the best player on the floor in crunch time.

And never was that clearer than when he drove through the defense and elevated for a monster slam to silence the crowd in the final minutes as the Timberwolves put the finishing touches on the sweep.

Now he will look to continue building his star power in the second round when he and Minnesota face the winner of the series between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.