The NBA Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend may have been disappointing, but players more than make up for it with some of their dunks during the season. On Monday night, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves submitted a highlight that could be the dunk of the year.
In the third quarter of the game against the Utah Jazz, Edwards rose up and threw down a vicious dunk over Jazz power forward John Collins. The play helped propel the Timberwolves to a 114-104 victory and left both players hobbled.
“I was thinking I was going to miss it because I wasn’t close to the rim, but somehow God willed it in for me,” said Edwards, who scored 25 of his 32 points after halftime.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Anthony Edwards, John Collins, Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
Edwards suffered a dislocated left ring finger after his hand collided with Collins’ face. During the timeout, he went to the locker room and got it fixed, as he quickly returned to the game. Collins, however, was not as fortunate.
He was taken to the back and ruled out during the fourth quarter as the team evaluated him for a possible concussion. Luckily, he came out without a concussion but was diagnosed with a head contusion.
Given how short-handed the Timberwolves were, Edwards’ dunk provided a spark for the team to get going. It was much-needed, as his teammates and the crowd were all energized from him posterizing Collins.
“It gives everybody energy,” Edwards said. “It makes everybody want to defend, want to get stops. It makes the game more exciting.”
The Timberwolves were already playing without Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert when their reserve big man, Naz Reid, went down with a head injury in the first half. Edwards, just as he has previously, put the team on his back and carried them to victory.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Anthony Edwards, John Collins, Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
That was the third straight game Edwards scored 30+ points in, as he has answered the call for his short-handed team. His performance has impressed head coach Chris Finch, who spoke highly of his young NBA All-Star after the game.
“He’s always been a guy who can really flip a game around,” Finch said. “Knows when to raise it. Knows when to make the big play. Can sometimes make it out of nothing. But now, he’s like way more polished with what he’s doing. He’s a little more composed, not rushing it as much.”
That streak reached four games on Tuesday night against the defending NBA Champion, Denver Nuggets. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves were unable to come away with a victory, as they lost a hard-fought contest 115-112.
That loss moved Minnesota into third place in the Western Conference, one game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver. They have their work cut out for them to get back to the top of the standings, but at least Minnesota has a four-game buffer between themselves and the Los Angeles Clippers in fourth place.
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