Wolves 113, Pacers 111: Anthony. Edwards. Delivers.

Two-time All-Star Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards scored 44 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, to take down Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and the Pacers.

What a day to be a Minnesota Timberwolves fan.

The day started with the heartbreaking news of Karl-Anthony Towns’ tearing the meniscus in his left knee, and ended with an iconic performance from Anthony Edwards, who delivered an inspired, MVP-level performance in Towns’ absence.

After the initial shock of the injury news, everyone turned to the question that permeates all teams and their fanbases after an injury to an important player — “Who steps up in his absence?”

While the role players did a great job tonight and filled the large hole left by KAT, it was Minnesota’s very own superstar that took the game into his hands and willed his team to victory that sends a message to the entire league: the Timberwolves will not go quietly into the night. Let’s break it down.

The first quarter started off as poorly as it can get for a team that already had gone through a day of terrible news: Edwards stepped on Aaron Nesmith’s foot and rolled his left ankle on his first play of the game. He immediately was subbed out and went back to the locker room. Despite it being an awful way to start the game, then Wolves used good ball movement and attacking off the catch to go up 10-2 to start the game.

After this hot start, Edwards conjured up his patented Paul Pierce powers to return to the game quickly, just four minutes of game time later. The next man up mentality was in full swing as Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker all gave the Wolves great stints in the first quarter to extend the lead to 14 with less than two minutes to go in the opening period. Timberwolves closed the quarter strong and lead 33-23. Naz Reid lead all scorers with nine points, as he was a big beneficiary of Minnesota’s crisp ball movement and quick decision-making.

The opening minutes of the second quarter were just as deflating as the start of the first. Edwards went back to the locker room after a tough fall on his hip, which led to the Timberwolves debut for T.J. Warren. Edwards, notching his second “Paul Pierce” in this one, returned to the game a few minutes into the second quarter. After a quick five points to cut the lead in half to start the frame, the Wolves went on a run of their own (that included Warren’s first bucket as a Timberwolf) to get the lead back up to 13 — 45-32.

With some tough buckets from Ant and some superb defense causing turnovers, the Wolves slowly put more and more pressure on the Pacers, which opened up a 17-point lead a little over halfway in the second quarter. Indiana was able to close the gap some but Minnesota maintained an 11-point lead, 60-49, at the half.

Edwards scored 11 points in the second quarter to give him 15 at the break. Minnesota scored 44 points in the paint in the first half, tying a season-high for most in a half (first half at Sacramento on 12/23), led by strong efforts from Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and Reid.

A quick burst from the Pacers and a couple fouls from McDaniels and Kyle Anderson cut the lead down to three and sent both players to the bench with four fouls. In the six minutes to start the third quarter, the Wolves hit a cold stretch and the Pacers got hot. A 19-6 run launched Indiana back in front 68-66 with 5:58 to go in the period. The Timberwolves shot 3/11 to open the frame, but stayed in it. After the great start from Indiana, Ant served as a stabilizing force by scoring 13 points on 5/10 shooting, which came from relentlessly attacking the rim. His efforts drew the Wolves back even at 83 at the end of the frame.

The fourth started the same way as the third ended: absolutely deadlocked. Ever since the run by Indiana in the third, it was been a back-and-forth affair with each team throwing punches at the other. Edwards scored another and-1 with a pretty mid-range jumper to get some breathing room with 7:26 left in the final frame, causing a timeout from Indiana. 95-92 Wolves.

But this was only the start of the Edwards takeover.

Shot after shot he knocked down, continuing to put daggers into the Pacers. Four of his six scores were unassisted as the two-time All-Star willed both the ball into the basket and the Timberwolves in front on the scoreboard. After he went 1/2 from the line to give the Wolves a 113-111 lead with seven seconds remaining, Aaron Nesmith attempted to take it in for a layup to tie in the closing seconds. But Ant instead put his stamp on a 44-point performance with an emphatic block to secure a W that had his fingerprints all over the game.

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Key Takeaways

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Role Players Step Up in a Big Way

One of the first big things to highlight from this matchup was how the role players knew they needed to step up in an expanded role, and did just that. They picked up the slack in the wake of the Towns injury and helped to ensure the Wolves were able to pull away for the win.

Jaden McDaniels had 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists (his first game this season with at least five of each), along with having to defend Tyrese Halliburton for most of the night.

Naz Reid had 13 points and eight rebounds in his expanded role to assist on the offensive side of the ball, and saw a big uptick in the number of plays Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch ran for him, especially coming off screens out of the corner.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 10 points and, while he did not hit a three, was a great connector and attacker off the catch, and played great defense as Kyle Anderson and Jaden McDaniels got into some foul trouble.

While we expect all these guys, newcomer T.J. Warren, fresh off signing a 10-day contract on Wednesday, also played 16 minutes and scored a clutch tide-stemming seven points off the bench. He seemed to fit in well with what the Wolves try to do and serves as a good low usage offensive player that the Timberwolves have missed since trading Troy Brown Jr. as part of the package to land Monte Morris, who left this one early after just six minutes because of left hamstring soreness.

Michael Grady and Jim Peterson said it best on the broadcast when they discussed the Wolves having to “make up for 22 points lost without KAT.”

If everyone boosts their scoring a bit (along with Warren adding 7-9 points) it is a good way to make up for all that is lost when a premier offensive player like Towns is off the floor. This was a good start and a place to build from.

Anthony Edwards: Superstar

There are not enough good things to say about what Anthony Edwards did on the basketball court on Thursday night. Ant scored 44 points on 18/35 shooting, hauled in six rebounds, added four stocks, and dropped three dimes — all without recording a single turnover.

He was all over the floor; and even after exiting the game twice for injury, he came back into the game and delivered a legendary performance. With the news of his co-star going down for at least a month, he took on that burden and brought his team to victory. Playing almost 40 minutes, he left all he had out on the floor. This performance is what superstars do for their teams. If you watched this game, you witnessed greatness.

Edwards entered the game at the 8:22 minute mark left in the fourth quarter. After that point, he scored 16 points to end the game. This included 11 of the last 13 points for Minnesota. He was the entire clutch time offense. For the entirety of his stint, he was aggressive. Driving to the rim as a man on a mission and more often than not, he converted. His silky smooth touch from downtown, his mid-range bag was also on full display down the stretch.

For Timberwolves fans this season, the close clutch time games have usually created trouble for the Wolves — but not this time.

Edwards capped off his incredible scoring output with one of the best blocks you will ever see. He soared through the air as the clock was winding down and (while hitting his head on the backboard) returned the shot right back where it came from. Ending the game.

This was a pivotal game for a Wolves team that is facing a six-game road trip after some news that is difficult to come back from. Edwards was determined to start that stretch on a high note.

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Up Next

The Wolves will get on a plane to The Land for a Friday night matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who will be without three starters in Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Max Strus.

Fans can watch the 6:30 PM tip on ESPN.

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Highlights