Anthony Edwards said he wanted to guard Kyrie Irving. It turned out that no one on the Timberwolves could stop Irving in the first half.
TOUGH KYRIE IRVING AND-1
— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2024
Mavs trail 59-62 heading into halftime of Game 1 on TNT#NBAConferenceFinals presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/cLMSvsNi4o
Irving finished a tough and-one to complete a personal 5-0 run and bring the Dallas Mavericks to within three points at halftime. Minnesota led 62-59 at the half, with Irving shooting 11-of-14 from the field.
After Minnesota won Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets, Edwards declared that his matchup with Irving was "gonna be fun."
“My matchup is gonna be Kyrie so that’s gonna be fun.”
— Abby Jones (@_abigaiiiil) May 20, 2024
Anthony Edwards shares early thoughts on WCF against the Mavericks. pic.twitter.com/Rej64yxytW
It wasn't all that fun for the Timberwolves, as Irving came out looking for his own shot. At the half, TNT's Charles Barkley accused Edwards of "poking the bear," implying that Irving felt challenged or disrespected by Edwards' quote. Regardless of why, Irving put on an exhibition in the first half of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Kyrie Irving SWITCHES HANDS for the tough finish
— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2024
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals is UNDERWAY on TNT! pic.twitter.com/hGsegVL6ae
While Irving has often taken a distributor role alongside Luka Doncic in these playoffs, it was nearly all buckets in Game 1. He took 14 shots and delivered just one assist. But with the way he was getting to the hoop on Minnesota's top-ranked defense, why would he give the ball to anyone else?
10-0 MAVS RUN ‼️
— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2024
Kyrie Irving's and-1 gives the Mavs the edge in Game 1 on TNT!#NBAConferenceFinals presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/TYrSEWjo9Z
Edwards may have poked the bear, but no one else on the Timberwolves has been able to contain the bear any better than he has. Irving was an equal-opportunity scorer in the first half, scoring on whichever Timberwolf was in his way.
Wolves had no answer for Kyrie Irving during his 24-point first half.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) May 23, 2024
How he fared against each defender who took a turn on him, per @ESPNStatsInfo:
Anthony Edwards: 4-5 FG
Jaden McDaniels: 3-3 FG
Nickeil Alexander-Walker: 2-3 FG
Transition: 2-3 FG
Edwards was no slouch himself with 13 first-half points, but that was no match for a red-hot Uncle Drew.
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