One thunderous dunk provided a perfect snapshot of Anthony Edwards’ second-half dominance Monday night.
Edwards threw a monster shot against the Utah Jazz’s John Collins in the third quarter to help the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 114-104 victory, but abandoned both players after the game.
“I thought I was going to miss it because I wasn’t close to the rim, but somehow God wanted it for me,” said Edwards, who scored 25 of his 32 points after halftime.
The piece immediately went viral on social media. Timberwolves veteran point guard Mike Conley said this might be the best dunk he has seen in person.
“He almost looks like a cat,” Conley said. “He just keeps moving forward and lands on his feet. Things like that make him who he is and why he can maneuver the game the way he does.
Edwards said he grew up idolizing players like Vince Carter, who were known for their dunking ability.
“It gives me chills, man, because I’ve always dreamed of taking on someone like that,” Edwards said.
Collins and Edwards were both injured during the play. Edwards dislocated his left ring finger after his hand collided with Collins’ cheekbone. He ran back to the locker room during a subsequent timeout, put the finger back in place, was taped up and returned to action. Collins was ruled out for the entire fourth quarter while he was evaluated for a possible concussion. It was later confirmed that his injury was a head contusion.
Edwards’ dunk gave a short-handed Minnesota team an emotional boost during a critical period. The Timberwolves lost Naz Reid to a head injury in the first half and were already playing without injured starters Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.
“It gives everyone energy,” Edwards said. “It makes everyone want to defend, make stops. It makes the game more exciting.”
Edwards also had eight assists, seven rebounds and two blocks in 38 minutes. His relentless energy on both ends of the court kept the Jazz on their heels throughout the second half.
“That’s who he is,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “He’s an All-Star. He’s a great player.”
Edwards has had three consecutive 30-point games. He averaged 31.5 points in consecutive wins over Utah on 58% shooting from the field.
“He’s always been a guy that can really turn a game around,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Know when to raise. Knows when to make the big play. Can sometimes pull it out of nowhere. But now he’s much more polished with what he does. He is a bit more controlled and not in such a hurry.”