The Minnesota Timberwolves recently lost Game 4 of the Semifinal clash against the defending champions Denver Nuggets. With this, the series is now tied 2-2. Despite Anthony Edwards’ 40+ point performance, the rest of the roster couldn’t do enough to pick up their pace. Even as the Nuggets emerged victorious, Ant-Man did not let go of an opportunity to trash-talk Jamal Murray. In the post-game press conference, he was asked about what he said to Murray at the end and Edwards didn’t hesitate to give everyone a glimpse.
The player responded to the Nuggets star’s trash talk by stating, “I just told his a** we love that keep talkin’ that, that’s what we like”. While Murray didn’t respond, Anthony Edwards was sure that he was heard. “We live for that,” he concluded. Ant-Man pulled off another impressive performance by going 40+ for the second time in the Semifinals and for the third time in the 2023-24 Postseason. This was thanks to his 16-25 field goals, 5-8 three-pointers, and 7-8 free throws. On the other hand, Jamal Murray could only deliver 19 points for the Nuggets through his 8-17 field goals.
Anthony Edwards on what he told Jamal Murray at the end of the game: "I just told his ass, we love that keep talkin' that, that's what we like" pic.twitter.com/3WahXtV432
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 13, 2024
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Given that the player is still recovering from his left calf injury, his performance has not been as up to the mark as it was during the first round of the playoffs. However, Murray did have some memorable moments during the matchup. As halftime drew to a close, he shot a buzzer-beater from halfway across the court to add a few last-second points to the Nuggets’ already impressive lead.
His 8 assists helped Nikola Jokic and others to efficiently score and circumvent through the Timberwolves’ defensive lineup. All of that would have been enough to get the above-mentioned words out of Anthony Edwards’ mouth.
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Anthony Edwards hopes that the Timberwolves will “bounce back”
After the Minnesota Timberwolves had established a 2-0 score against the Denver Nuggets, very few people would have expected the latter team to catch up. However, they did. Anthony Edwards’ 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists during Game 3 weren’t enough to deliver the win for his team. To the player’s credit, he took the responsibility of the loss on his shoulders, stating that he “came out with no energy at all” and that it is something that he “can’t afford to do”. Given that the Timberwolves recently lost even after Edwards made 44 points in 45 minutes, the player was certainly not going to take the blame this time.
The rest of his team shot an under-par 40.4% overall, with 30% from the 3P and 57.9% on free throws. “It’s a series. We won two games, (but) we didn’t think it was going to be easy,” said Edwards in the aftermath of Game 4.
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“Like I said after Game 2, they’re not gonna lay down, they’re gonna punch back. And they beat us up tonight. Last two nights, they beat us up. That’s okay, we’ll be alright. We’ll bounce back and figure it out next game and be ready again.”
One thing’s for sure, Ant-Man’s attitude and motivation are still up there. The Twolves fanbase will be really relieved by that as their franchise is severely inexperienced at winning in these stages of the competition. After playing two games at the Target Center, the Timberwolves will now head to the Ball Arena in Colorado for Game 5. Along with possessing the home-court advantage, the Nuggets will also be playing with a redemption-style thought process. Only time will tell whether Anthony Edwards and Co. will manage to break that.