Anthony Edwards Disputes That He 'Struggled' in Wolves' Game 4 Loss to Thunder
Despite finishing with an uncharacteristically low point total during the Minnesota Timberwolves' 128-126 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday, Anthony Edwards challenged the notion that he "struggled."
Speaking to reporters after the game, Edwards suggested that rather than struggling, he and teammate Julius Randle took what the Thunder gave them defensively:
"I don't look at it like I struggled, or [Randle] struggled. They just—they had a good game plan, making us get off the ball. Especially for me, man. They were super in the gaps, I made the right play all night.
"I don't really look at it like I struggled. I didn't get enough shots to say I struggled, so that might be how you guys look at it. But, yeah, I didn't struggle at all. I just made the right play."
While the 126 points the Thunder allowed Monday night were more than usual, they seemed to make a concerted effort to shut down the T-Wolves' two best offensive players, and they succeeded in that regard.
Edwards finished with just 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including 1-of-7 shooting from three-point range. Meanwhile, Randle made only one of his seven field goal attempts and recorded just five points.
Given that Edwards averaged a career-high 27.6 points per game during the regular season and was averaging 26.5 points per game during the playoffs before Monday, his performance in Game 4 was nowhere near what the Timberwolves needed.
Several other T-Wolves players stepped up Monday, including Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Donte DiVincenzo, who scored 23 and 21 points, respectively, off the bench. Jaden McDaniels added 22 points as well.
Collectively, Minnesota actually had about as good of an offensive effort as possible against a Thunder team that ranked third in the NBA in points allowed and first in field goal percentage allowed during the regular season.
The Timberwolves shot 51.2 percent from the field and a sizzling 43.9 percent from beyond the arc, and they even had more free-throw attempts with 28 to OKC's 21.
However, the T-Wolves turned the ball over 21 times, including five each from Edwards and Randle.
On top of that, the Thunder got exactly what they needed out of their star players, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren combined to score 95 points.
SGA was particularly unstoppable, as the reigning NBA MVP scored 40 points on 13-of-30 shooting from the floor and 12-of-14 shooting from the free-throw line.
Now, the Thunder are one victory away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 2012, and they can close out the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday night when they host the Timberwolves in Game 5.
