An extremely close fight and the Dallas Mavericks pulled away with a 109-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight. Just like that, the Mavs have a 2-0 lead in the West’s Conference Finals. However, that isn’t what’s making the rounds on social media right now. Minnesota superstar, Anthony Edwards, had to check out for a few minutes in the fourth quarter.

According to Dave McMenamin, the young guard was spotted with a face mask, receiving oxygen. “During the time Anthony Edwards was checked out of the game from 7:53 to 5:31 remaining in the 4th Q, the Wolves guard put on a face mask to receive oxygen in the tunnel by the Minnesota bench.”

It was quite a surprising situation, seeing as how this same high-flying young guard had led the team against the defending champions in the last round. His struggles had many users on X comment that he was “gassed” and that guarding Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving was killing him. The Ant-Man finished with 21 points in 40 minutes of game time on just 5-of-17 shooting.

Game 1 wasn’t too different either. Edwards had just 19 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists on 6-of-16 shooting. Interestingly, though, when asked about the oxygen instance post-game, Ant flat-out denied it. “Nah nah, I was good today,” he replied in answer to a reporter’s question about getting oxygen.

Whatever the ANT is going through, he needs to figure it out soon. The Mavericks is led by Doncic and he isn’t one to just give up. Seeing how he continues to put up top-notch performances despite having multiple injuries plaguing him speaks volumes about the kind of player, leader, and teammate he is. Not to mention, ‘Uncle Drew’ is always there to take on the duties of the Slovenian superstar if need be.

Luka Magic cancels out whatever strategies Anthony Edwards had in mind (or didn’t)

Minnesota started off to a strong start. Much like in Game 1, the Wolves held the momentum with an early lead. At one point, they even had an 18-point advantage in the second quarter. Unfortunately, Anthony Edwards and Co. couldn’t hold on to it. Hobbled or not, Doncic unleashed chaos on the court.

In fact, his buzzer-beater, as he flew circles around the 4x DPOY Rudy Gobert, with just 3 seconds left, was what gave them the win tonight. His patented step-back threes were also on full display tonight. Doncic finished with a triple-double in Game 2, scoring a game-high 32 points and 13 assists, along with 10 rebounds. He was also a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Luka’s running mate and Edwards’ target for the Western Conference series, Irving, wasn’t behind at all. The veteran guard scored 20 points and six assists as he shot 57.1% from downtown and 43.8% from the field. After all, he did say that he was using Ant’s words as motivation for the series.

Clearly, it is working. Chief Hélà has been cooking since Game 1. Game 3 will be held at American Airlines Center at 8:00 PM ET, as the Mavs look to use the home-court advantage to quickly take care of business. As for the Wolves, the only positive going for them is that they are 5-1 in the postseason. The only road loss happened in Game 5 against the Nuggets. Hopefully, that can help them get their second-round energy back.

Before you go, another matter foremost in our mind is about our beloved Inside the NBA crew. While many are sure they are going to be disbanded, Shaq’s confidante and ex-agent, Leonard Armato, thinks otherwise. To know more about his comments, watch this video.