Anthony Edwards and Nikola Jokic (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The young Minnesota Timberwolves team displayed a marvellous performance, surprising the Ball Arena crowd by snatching an early lead in the second round of the playoffs against the reigning champions Denver Nuggets. Like most people, Wolves guard Anthony Edwards was aware of his opponent Nikola Jokic’s supreme powers and entered the series with the mental preparation that they needed to fight the battle.

Following the 106-99 victory, Edwards said in a post-game interview, “I lost to these guys last year. They are the defending champs, they are a hard team to beat. Great team, they got great players. They have the best player in the league in Nikola Jokic. To me they got the best closer in Jamal Murray, the best 3-point shooter in Michael Porter Jr. So it’s tough to beat this team.“

The Nuggets were the superior side in the first half, leading by 4 points, but the tables turned in the latter half when the Minnesota squad came back stronger with 33 points in each quarter. Thanks to the foundation laid by Anthony Edwards earlier in the game, a late surge from Naz Reid and Mike Conley secured the game.

Anthony Edwards Drops 43 Points on Nuggets

Anthony Edwards had a great round-one playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, averaging 31 points in four games. After utter dominance in the 4-0 series, they faced the Nuggets with the same mentality and secured their first win.

The 22-year-old attempted 29 shots from the floor, of which 17 hit the target, along with 3 shots from downtown and 6 accurate free throws. After entertaining the crowd for 42 minutes, Edwards finished with a game-high as well as a playoff career-high 43 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists while nabbing a steal and blocking 2 shots.

Edwards’ back-to-back attacks were brutal for the Denver squad to defend, and they finally crumbled in the fourth quarter. The budding Minnesota star is not letting the win get to his head as Jokic and his team are no slouch in the semifinals. With that mentality, the two teams will face off in front of the same crowd on Monday for another action thriller.