Anthony Edwards’ awe-inspiring block rescues Timberwolves: ‘I never jumped that high in my life’

By / / Sports / 8 minutes of reading



Hanging 10 feet in the air, that orange rim at Gainbridge Fieldhouse was the only thing stopping Anthony Edwards.

As the Minnesota Timberwolves star soared toward the goal with mayhem on his mind, he just kept rising. Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith was at the basket in the closing seconds, needing a bucket to tie the game and send it to overtime. Edwards had just missed a big free throw, and he was hell-bent on making sure the game was going to end right then and there.

“I saw him with the lane, I knew he was going up for the layup, and I was just like, ‘I’m finna to go get this,’ ” Edwards told Bally Sports North.

He came down the lane and got up into such rarefied air that he blocked Nesmith’s layup not with his fingertips or even the palm of his hand. He got the shot with the heel of his left hand. He may have gotten even more altitude if his head had not hit the rim to keep him from climbing.

“I ain’t never jumped that high in my life,” he said.

Consider the lump on his head a trophy for a victory well earned. On the same day they learned they would be without Karl-Anthony Towns for more than a month due to a torn left meniscus, the Wolves had given away a 17-point second-quarter lead and were in danger of losing another close game. But Edwards scored 44 points before delivering one of the most awe-inspiring blocked shots the Wolves have ever seen in a 113-111 victory at Indiana.

“We know that’s how he’s wired. He likes that. He wants that. He’s not afraid of that,” coach Chris Finch said after the game. “Then it’s all about making the right plays and making shots along the way. He did both tonight.”

The Wolves (44-19) remained a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City as the No. 1 team in the Western Conference. Rudy Gobert added 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks and Jaden McDaniels had 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. But without Edwards, the Wolves never would have been able to score enough to keep pace with Indiana, the second-fastest playing team in the league.

Without him, they never would have pulled this one off. Edwards blocked two shots, had two steals, grabbed six rebounds and did not turn the ball over a single time in almost 39 minutes, tying Kevin Garnett in 2007 for the most points by a Wolves player in a game without a giveaway.

The last time Edwards was in Indianapolis for the All-Star Game, he became one of the faces of the weekend disaster from a competitive standpoint. He shot left-handed 3-pointers off the side of the backboard in the skills contest and then did not seem at all interested in playing much in the game itself. When he spoke afterward, his candid observation of the All-Star Game as a farce in the players’ eyes said it all.

“It’s a break,” Edwards said then. “I don’t think nobody wants to come here and compete.”

That laissez-faire attitude was nowhere to be seen on Thursday in Indianapolis. Unlike the All-Star Game, this one mattered. Edwards’ team had been reeling since returning from the break. The Wolves went 4-3 on their seven-game homestand, with sloppy offense in the fourth quarter doing them in against the LA Clippers and Sacramento Kings.

Then came the news Thursday that Towns needed knee surgery. He will be re-evaluated in a month, the team said, but it seems unlikely that he will get back on the court before the regular season ends on April 14. Towns has been a crucial part of the team’s unexpected success this season. He earned his fourth All-Star bid for his efficient offense and his ability to defend as a power forward, something that many doubted when the Timberwolves acquired Gobert to construct a super-sized frontcourt.

Losing him is a huge blow, especially for a team that has been lackluster offensively for most of the season. They entered the night against Indiana ranked 18th in offensive rating. Taking away arguably the team’s best offensive player figured to bring that down even further. At least for one night, Edwards wouldn’t allow it. The spotlight was on him and he responded with his best game of the season.

“I always want it. I want every responsibility that comes with winning,” Edwards said. “It doesn’t start with me. It starts with Finchy and the coaching staff. They did a great job with the game plan, and we came out, executed it and we came out on top.”

He wore a scowl on his face for much of the night, a fire in his eyes that had not been there since the Wolves came back from the All-Star break. He was shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3-point range in those seven games, and the ferocity he has shown on defense was lacking as well. It came to a head on Monday night against Portland when Edwards was late to the opening tip, forcing Finch to put Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the starting lineup.

Edwards’ girlfriend had given birth to the couple’s first child just a few days earlier, and Edwards, understandably, did not appear to have his head completely in the game.

On Thursday, he had to leave the game against the Pacers when he rolled his left ankle after stepping on Nesmith 16 seconds into the game. He went to the locker room again in the second quarter after taking a fall. Like he always seems to do, Edwards shook it off and kept coming for the Pacers.

With McDaniels and Kyle Anderson in foul trouble and Mike Conley just 2 of 9, Edwards had to put the entire offense on his Oakland City shoulders. He took a season-high 35 shots, making 18 of them. The Timberwolves led by 17 points in the first half, but the Pacers raced back into the game and tied it at 83 heading into the fourth quarter. With the team seemingly running on fumes, Edwards pressed the gas pedal to the floor. He scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including Minnesota’s final eight of the game.

“I found my second wind late in that fourth and it was over,” Edwards said. “Once I found my second wind, I knew there was nobody that could stop me.”

He hit the Pacers from every angle. First, there was the contested 3 from the top of the key, in a tie game with just over a minute remaining.

Not enough for you? How about turning Nesmith, a rugged defender, into Bryon Russell when Edwards stopped on a dime, watched Nesmith fly right by and then drilled a free-throw line jumper.

If you like a little more creativity and ingenuity in the shotmaking, Edwards can offer a leaning, one-handed push shot with the 6-foot-8 Pascal Siakam right on his tail.

They were the kind of hero shots that can sometimes go wrong for Edwards. The 22-year-old can occasionally want it too much, and that ambition does not blind him, but it can give him the kind of tunnel vision that stagnates the offense. But with the way things were going on Thursday night, the Timberwolves needed a hero, so Edwards strapped on his cape.

The pressure on his shoulders did not wear him down, it empowered him. With the Timberwolves’ ground shaking under their feet, Edwards found the footing that helped the Timberwolves surge to the top of the conference in the first place.

“Everything was really decisive,” Finch said. “I thought he played really quick. He went downhill in straight lines. He got to his spots.”

About the only thing that went wrong for him late was missing the second free throw with 7.2 seconds left that would have given the Wolves a three-point lead and made it impossible for the Pacers to win the game in regulation. It hit the front of the rim and rolled off.

The Pacers have been blowing the doors off the rest of the league all season. Running is in their DNA, so it was only second nature for Nesmith to take off as soon as Myles Turner grabbed the rebound. Tyrese Haliburton flicked a hit-ahead pass that hit Nesmith in stride, and all that stood between him and a game-tying layup was Conley.

Nesmith elevated but had no idea that Edwards was eyeing him up the whole way down the court. After Edwards smothered the shot, Nesmith sat under the basket, jaw dropped and a blank stare in his eyes. He could not believe Edwards got up that high. Edwards could not believe it himself.

Believe that. So goes the tagline for Edwards’ AE1 signature shoe release. He has been saying it since the shoe went on the market in December. Now he is living it.

When the game was over, Edwards’ wrist was sore from the hard landing he took after the block. He had a headache from the collision with the goal.

“It’s hurting real bad,” he said.

He said it with a big smile on his face. This kind of pain doesn’t hurt. This kind of pain is the cost of glory, and he will pay it over and over again. There are few peaks in Timberwolves lore, but Edwards just provided one that rivals any other single play in the franchise’s 35-year history.

That rim is 10 feet high in the air, but that’s nothing to Anthony Edwards. His aspirations for this Timberwolves season rise so much higher than that.

(Photo of Anthony Edwards: Trevor Ruszkowski / USA Today)





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Avatar of Miranda Washington
Miranda Washington is the newest member of our news writing team, and she's already making waves. In addition to being a writer, Miranda also has a passion for photography and art. She loves to travel and experience new places, both near and far, whether through her camera lens or in person.

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