Kyrie Irving praises Anthony Edwards' 'no fear mentality'

Kyrie Irving was home watching the grueling Game 7 between the Nuggets and Timberwolves last week like the rest of us. However, Irving did not expect to hear Anthony Edwards name-drop him on national TV minutes after the Timberwolves pulled off the biggest comeback in Game 7 history.

"My matchup gonna be Kyrie, so that's gonna be fun," Edwards said of facing Dallas in the conference finals. 

After the Mavs clinched Game 1 on Wednesday, Irving spoke of being caught off guard by the comments.

"I used it as motivation [laughs]. I'm watching Game 7 and Ant comes out and says, 'I got Kyrie,'" Irving told "Inside the NBA" on TNT. "That's a no-fear mentality, and that's why we love Ant. Coming out tonight, I knew he was going to pressure me a little bit. But I knew they were coming off a grueling Game 7 and their legs were biting them a little bit. Hopefully, they come back stronger in Game 2 but we'll be prepared."

While Edwards has shown the capability of having a bounce-back game, the 22-year-old was thoroughly outplayed — on both ends of the floor — by Irving on Wednesday. 

Irving came out hot right off the gate, scoring 24 of his 30 points in the first half, allowing Luka Doncic to flourish down the stretch. Irving was also exceptional on defense, holding players to 3-of-11 shooting as the primary defender. Irving's on-ball pressure also led to Edwards shooting a paltry 6-of-16 from the field. 

The Mavs star had more praise for Edwards in his postgame presser.