OKLAHOMA CITY — Anthony Edwards didn't celebrate after breaking through the Oklahoma City Thunder's defense with a crowd-packed dunk. That shot became one of the keys to the Minnesota Timberwolves' victory in the battle for the top spot in the West on Monday night (local time), ultimately beating the Thunder 107-101.
After the dunk, the Thunder called a timeout, and Minnesota extended their lead to four points, with 1:57 left in the game. However, instead of celebrating, Edwards complained that the Thunder called a timeout. Immediately after completing the dunk, he grabbed his left wrist and said he thought he had been fouled in the game. He stared at head referee Mark Lindsay, who was standing a few feet away from the baseline, made an exaggerated shrug before grabbing his left wrist again.
Edwards kept his cool as the Timberwolves completed the victory, and criticized the referees several times after the game. In his post-game interview on Timberwolves TV broadcast, he said: "I'll accept the penalty because the referee didn't give us any penalty tonight. In the dressing room, he continued to highlight the issue.
The referee sucked tonight. Yes, they suck," Edwards told ESPN without being guided. "We're playing 5 against 8. ”
Edwards led the Minnesota Timberwolves with 27 points, shooting 10-of-20 from the field and making all four of four from the free-throw line. Edwards thinks he deserves more free throws.
Tonight they were dumbfounded, but it didn't matter," Edwards said of the referee. "It's not fair, but it's okay. ”
Oklahoma City superstar Shay Gilgeous-Alexander had a stellar performance in the game, contributing 37 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, keeping the Thunder alive despite the poor performance of Rookie of the Year candidate Chet Holmgren. Holmgren scored just four points on 2-of-9 shooting. Small forward Jaden McDaniels is Holmgren's primary defender, allowing Gobert to defend Josh Giddey or the Thunder's lowest three-point shooting percentage on the court and retreat to the interior.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 15-of-16 free throws, one more than the entire Minnesota team.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch said: "It would have been a little bit difficult to defend him if that was the case, but we did pretty well after that and tried to stay active. They had some players who were very good at shooting from beyond the three-point line and we were willing to accept that, a threat to us at one point, but in due time it became no longer effective for us. ”
Edwards' frustration with the referees focused on his failure to get a penalty on a couple of layups, rather than the whistle Gilgeous-Alexander, who made the third-most free throws in the league.
He goes to the basket, he can do anything," Edwards said. "Yes, he is unstoppable. No one could stop him. He's great. He's fantastic. However, the referee was terrible tonight. ”
Timberwolves power forward Karl-Anthony Towns, who contributed 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, likened the game to a "championship game" because of the physical confrontation and intensity of the game. Both teams were tied for top of the Western Conference at the start of the game, but they both lost to bottom-placed teams in their last game; The Timberwolves lost to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, while the Thunder lost to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday afternoon.
The entire fourth quarter was almost a stalemate, which put the Timberwolves in a pivotal moment without point guard Mike Conley. Conley missed the game due to hamstring soreness. Minnesota entered the game without Conley, including last week's loss to the Charlotte Hornets and Spurs.
With the Timberwolves one step away from victory, Edwards found McDaniels with Gobert to take the lead with 2:32 left in the game. On the ensuing offense, Edwards made a difficult dunk.
Goebel commented: "He's calm. He didn't get a penalty but he stayed calm, trusted his team-mates and I think he got it right 95 per cent of the time, which is remarkable. ”
The Timberwolves secured the victory with some pressing defense, including a layup by the Thunder's Jalen Williams in the final two minutes of the game, as he was defended by three-time Defensive Player of the Year Gobert.
"That's what I was made for – a winning performance," Gobert said. He had 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting, 18 rebounds and a team-best plus/minus of +11. "That's what I'm proud of on both ends of the pitch. Obviously, when there are two minutes left in the game, when the game is tight or the score is tight, everything goes up – concentration, intensity. That's what I love to do. ”
The win exemplified the team style pursued by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"When we play with that mentality, it's fun and we can see how we can maximize our potential," Gobert said. ”
Despite the pleasant victory, Edwards was frustrated by the unfairness of the referees. The 22-year-old was named to the All-Star for the first time last season and is averaging 259 points and 5With three assists, he said he didn't think he had the same respect the referees have for other league stars. After Monday's victory, he was willing to accept a league fine to vent some disappointment.
I haven't won [the referee's respect] yet, so it's okay," Edwards said. 'But I thought the referee was terrible tonight. Too bad. We didn't get any penalty. I got fouled multiple times and I walked up to the referee and said, 'Hey, can you take a look?' They just shook their heads. Yes. And then soon the guys on their team came over and got banged and blew for a foul.
So I don't think tonight's game was fair from the start. So I'm very happy that we won the game. ”