[ad_1]
Minneapolis — Saturday night’s second matchup between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Houston Rockets had a somewhat familiar script. They holed up in double digits before digging in to win a directionless 10-win Rockets group lost on the tanking road to Wembleyland.
Again, the Wolf took great pains to rebound or protect the paint. “-26 on the grass” Finch was frustrated, but not surprised, especially since he hadn’t injured Karl-Anthony Towns or Rudy Gobert’s two All-Star centers. crushed by.”
What makes this Houston Round 2 script different? Anthony Edwards starred in one of the brightest games of his young career. he was amazing. He was an All Star Ant.
A poster dunk over highly skilled Rocket center Alperen Sengan, followed by a steal and layup on the next inbounds pass by Jayden McDaniels gave his team the life it needed before the break. Edwards went into halftime with 19 points, with little help other than D’Angelo Russell. They came out snoring in the third, allowing Houston to continue an 11-3 run before Finch’s timeout.
After that, the ant show continued. He hit 3 and 3. He drives powerfully downhill to the rim. He was attacking with authority. And Edwards did it again. His second massive dunk against Sengun sent everyone in the building into a frenzy and should have ended up being a Dunk of the Year contender. 17,000 people were talking about the murder.
“Hide your wife, hide your kids,” exclaimed Wolves play-by-play announcer Michael Grady on the telecast. Edwards didn’t stop there. His second-half 25 points resulted in a season-high 44 points and the third-highest scoring game of his career.
“My girlfriend’s birthday is two days away and she’s leaving the country, so I had to put on a show for her,” Edwards said in an on-court post-match interview. (Edwards also had two best-scoring performances last season, scoring 49 points against the Spurs and 48 against Golden State.) bottom.)
“He was special today. Really on both ends of the floor,” said Finch.
The Rockets’ turnovers (Minnesota’s 11-21), combined with Jaylen Green’s ability to push the team out of every game, were the other two big parts of the Wolves’ 113-104 victory. 3 to 13 nights including 6 turnovers. He was also scoring a career-high 41 points. That’s the ups and downs of Houston youth these days.
Nearly two weeks after Edwards said, “I personally think we should build around the 28s,” Sengan came out with another huge stat line. 19 points, 16 rebounds, 7 dimes, 3 blocks. Edwards’ monster dunk may have overshadowed his performance, but Sengan showed he was the real deal, and Ant was right. For all Houston’s issues, they have legitimate Young Jokic-type talent, and at just 20 years old he ranks fifth.
Gobert missed three games in a row with a sore right groin after doing a pre-match warm-up to see if he could play. His rim protection has been sorely missed, but there is optimism that his return will happen soon, a key member of the bench and one of this team’s true leaders. Taurian His Prince ended the match with a sprained left ankle and did not return. The injured wolf must once again look deeper into the bench to see if it can afford to seriously injure Prince.
But injuries create opportunities. This was Nate Nights night. The little-used reserve forward scored 138 minutes into the evening, pouring in 19 from the bench. He was 5-9 from the field, including 2-2 from deep, and 7-8 from the line. Knight even gave Houston business in transition with a beautiful Euro step to a ferocious dunk.
“We have three centers. [with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert out]said Chris Finch. Its monsters include Naz Reed, Luca Garza, and Knight. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without Luka and Naz,” said Knight. “Throughout the summer we were here — Nas, Jaden — just got better. Luka comes in and fits like a glove. I’m almost the same person as you.”
Russell also finished with an excellent in-control game that should not go unnoticed. He scored 23 points, eight assists and just two turnovers in 31 minutes.
Anthony Edwards is a sensational superstar and we believe he can be. “At the moment, when it comes to the Minnesota Timberwolves, he’s a snake head,” Knight said. “He and some other men. When Ant speaks up, we must listen.”
We all lived in Antworld tonight and what a special place it was.
[ad_2]
Source link
