Anthony Edwards Shows Rare Emotion In Harsh Verdict On Game 3 Defeat To Nuggets: “I Can’t Afford To Do That”

Game 3 of the Conference Semifinals clash between the Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves finally brought the latter team’s winning streak to an end. While the earlier two games had the Timberwolves leading by wide margins, their rivals were the ones now who secured a win by a 27-point lead! No one seems to be more disturbed by this loss than lead scorer Anthony Edwards, who did not shy away from making his true thoughts known.

In the aftermath of the matchup, NBA reporter Dane Moore highlighted a statement made by the Timberwolves point guard. Edwards took the blame for the loss on his own shoulders, stating that he displayed “no energy”. “I can’t afford to do that for my team. I let my team down, the fans down.”

During his 37 minutes on the court, Edwards could only accumulate a score of 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. This marks the second game since the beginning of the playoffs in which he scored below 20. Furthermore, the player also went 8-15 with his field goals and 3-8 with his three pointers. While such a performance by Edwards does not always result in a loss for the Timberwolves, the situation becomes different when dealing with an adverse force like the Nikola Jokic led Denver Nuggets. Plus, it didn’t help the fact that no one else chose to take the offensive lead and attempt to score beyond 20.

Despite this setback, the Timberwolves can find comfort in the fact that they still lead the defending champions by 2-1. When discussing the overall mood of the team, Edwards revealed “There’s no reason to be negative. They won one game, we’re gonna try to win the next game. It’s the first to four games, it’s not the first to one. If it was first one to one, we’d have already won the series. We’ll be alright.”

Anthony Edwards changes his tune after previously ‘criticizing’ Karl-Anthony Towns on his foul trouble

Anthony Edwards going so harsh on himself is a rare phenomenon. It was especially rare to be seen during this recent time, when the player used to reportedly blame others for lowering the overall performance of the Timberwolves. In fact, it wasn’t that long ago when his target was the team’s second highest leading scorer: Karl-Anthony Towns.

During the Timberwolves’ Game 4 win against the Phoenix Suns, Anthony Towns had scored 28 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. It was one of his best performances not only of the playoffs but also of the overall tournament. During the post-game presser, Anthony Edwards expressed his happiness at his teammate’s success. At the same time, however, he made use of the occasion to take a strike at the player in a joking manner.

“Let me just say, tonight, he wasn’t in foul trouble” said Edwards as Anthony Towns let out a laugh. “The first three games, the motherf***er just kept fouling. What did I tell you last game …….. ‘KAT, we not gonna win Game 4 if you keep fouling.’”

Fortunately, Karl-Anthony Towns was not on the receiving end of being blamed this time. However, this recent loss taught Anthony Edwards an important lesson. It informed him that they haven’t bagged the Semifinals yet, and that the Nuggets can take the lead away from them anytime soon. It remains to be seen whether this lesson will help the Timberwolves roster be prepared for Game 4 or not.