The Minnesota Timberwolves crushed the Phoenix Suns in Game 1 of their first-round series, but during the contest, Anthony Edwards couldn't help but admire just how good Kevin Durant is. In his postgame press conference, Edwards revealed he turned into a fan at one stage in the game.
"If I'm not mistaken, he made four or five straight buckets like it was nothing," Edwards said. "And I became a fan at one point, like I was out there like, 'God damn, he nice.' It's nothing we can do. (Karl-Anthony Towns) was playing great defense, (Rudy Gobert) was playing good defense and it's just like he don't see you.
"I'm looking at the stat sheet, he's 11-17, he missed six shots and had 31," Edwards continued. "I mean, he's the greatest to ever do it, man. My hat tips to him, he's the best."
Edwards has stated in the past that Durant is the greatest player ever for him. The Suns superstar put on a show here too, as he finished with 31 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. He made four straight shots for the Suns at the start of the third quarter and you just sat back and admired the shot-making. Not too long after that, though, Edwards took over.
The Timberwolves star exploded for 18 points in the third quarter to all but end the game as a contest. Edwards went 8-11 from the field in the period and ripped apart that Suns defense. The 22-year-old ended the night with 33 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals, and was the best player on the court.
Edwards' play ensured that the Timberwolves came away with a comfortable 120-95 win. They had lost all three regular-season meetings between these sides by double digits but flipped the script here. A big reason for those losses was Edwards averaging just 14.3 points per game in them but he stepped up on the big stage here.
Anthony Edwards On Talking Trash To Kevin Durant
During Edwards' epic third-quarter takeover, he also talked a whole lot of trash to Durant. When asked about their exchange after the game, the two-time All-Star claimed it was quite special for him.
“I think everybody here knows that’s my favorite player of all time, so that was probably one of the best feelings ever in my whole life," Edwards said.
Going back and forth with someone you idolized and then getting the better of them certainly would have felt great. Durant was also asked about Edwards talking trash to him and he didn't mind it one bit.
"It's just hoop. You get hot, you make shots, you make tough shots," Durant said. "You're going to feel excited about yourself. It's on me to keep coming back and showing him a tough look."
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The Suns showed Edwards some tough looks but it didn't matter and they'll have to find a way to slow him down if they are to win this series. On offense, they'll need Devin Booker, who had 18 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal, to play better, as Durant alone won't be able to lead them to victory.
As for the Timberwolves, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were two big positives apart from Edwards. They combined for 30 points off the bench, with Alexander-Walker's 18 points matching what the Suns got from their entire bench unit.
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