The Dallas Mavericks came galloping back to feast on the Minnesota Timberwolves. At one point in the first half, the home side was up 18. The crowd’s roars seemed to work. In the second half, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving happened. KAI hit home three triples while Luka Magic hit the game-winning dagger over Rudy Gobert to seal a 2-0 lead for the Mavericks. In retaliation to the star duo, Anthony Edwards fell futile.

After a defining series against the Denver Nuggets in the previous round, a large heap of expectations and hope was offloaded on Ant. Edwards hasn’t been able to maintain the sublime consistency, even looking completely spent by the time the fourth came around. Inside the NBA discussed the abrupt decline in Edwards’ production.

Charles Barkley believed it was exhaustion. “Listen, I’m going to tell you something. You can disagree with me. Ant is so tired right now. He’s never been this deep in the playoffs and he looked tired”, the NBA legend elaborated, not before an unaccepting Shaquille O’Neal interrupted him.

Shaq has his philosophies, and they don’t correlate with sympathy. The Big Diesel is blunt, especially with stars he sees a spark in, someone like Edwards. His advice? “There’s no such thing as being exhausted,”. When Barkley countered over the length of the Wolves’ postseason run, Shaq could only hear excuses. “I don’t want to hear that. He got to play better”.

They of course spoke before knowing Edwards’ personal battles to just participate in the fourth quarter. According to Dave McMenamin, Edwards had to briefly use an oxygen mask when he was subbed out in the final quarter. He returned to the game after receiving the treatment. The crew would eventually learn of the same.

After a dull 19-point performance in Game 1, Edwards showed promise in the first half. He had 13 and his passion was burning bright. The two-time All-Star suffered drastically in the second half. He finished the game with 21 points while shooting 5/17. In the final quarter, with a chance to level the series, Edwards scored 6, four of them coming from the free throw line.

No matter which advice Anthony Edwards decides to follow, one thing is certain, the Timberwolves need Ant-Man to play big if they want to come back in this series. The 22-year-old is the core of the Wolves offense. Their high tempo and elite defense are heavily engineered through his display of unquestionable effort and toughness.

Luka Doncic hunts the Wolves once again

Another splendid Doncic outburst helped the Mavericks overcome a double-digit deficit to win a thrilling Game 2. Logging a triple-double, the Slovenian dealt with pressure like it never existed. He embraced the heckling from the crowd, even getting involved in the heat of the talk. He orchestrated the offense even though hobbled. Doncic dishes out 13 assists to ensure every Maverick stays involved.

Lastly, when it came time for the most important shot of the night, Doncic took it upon himself to finish the job. After dancing around with an array of dribbles, Luka Magic nailed a tough step-back three to take the lead. He began talking back to the crowd that was loud all night. For the second time in three days, he had silenced them and enforced his greatness over the tenacious and physical Wolves.

Gripping firmly on to a 2-0 lead, the Timberwolves need more than a miracle to march back. They need to find something deeper within themselves to stay optimistic and turn the tide around. Can they do it?