MINNEAPOLIS—The Minnesota Timberwolves have seen Anthony Edwards writhing in pain on the floor several times throughout his career, before eventually welcoming their star guard back to the game.
This looked a little different. The sprained left ankle that forced Edwards out in the second quarter of Game 2 against Golden State on Thursday night even gave him a scare.
“This one, I was really worried about, actually,” coach Chris Finch said. “There are lots of ways being an elite athlete pays off. Being able to shake those things off is certainly one of them. But this one, I was really planning on not seeing him the rest of the game, to be honest with you.”
Edwards managed to make it back yet again, causing a roar from the crowd when he walked back onto the court for warmups right before the start of the second half. The 23-year-old finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Timberwolves in the 117–93 victory over the Warriors that tied the second-round series.
“That one was crazy,” Edwards said. “But I’ll be all right.”
Edwards tried to finish a fast break with a layup that Warriors center Trayce Jackson-Davis blocked before landing on Edwards’ left foot as they both came down.
Edwards immediately grabbed for his ankle as he sat on the floor under the basket. He was unable to put weight on his left foot as he was eventually helped off the court, after Golden State’s Draymond Green even came over to check on him.
Once Edwards reached the locker room, David Hines, the vice president for medical operations and performance therapy, went to work.
“Once we got to like the third movement in my ankle, I’m like, ‘All right, it’s starting to feel good. If we tape it, I’ll see how it feels,'” Edwards said. “He does a great job of making sure I’m good before I get out there, so big shoutout to David.”
Edwards, a three-time All-Star who was fourth in the NBA in scoring during the regular season, had just seven points on 2-for-7 shooting before he got hurt. His production once he returned was strong enough to assure the Wolves and their fans there wasn’t anything to worry about moving forward in the series.
Edwards went up to catch a lob from Julius Randle and dropped it in for a layup late in the third quarter, passing an important test for his ankle.
“Superman, for real,” teammate Jaden McDaniels said.
