Anthony Edwards: 'You know it. I'm Him.'
Anthony Edwards was a man possessed Wednesday night, scoring 17 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead the shorthanded Timberwolves to a 109-101 win over the Grizzlies.
When the final horn sounded – after Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant were ejected – Edwards had a fun back-and-forth with Ja's dad, Tee Morant.
"Hey, yo. I know who you are," Tee Morant said after they embraced.
"You know it," Edwards said. "You know it. I'm Him."
"There's only one Him," Morant said with a laugh.
One of the best subplots from last season's playoff series between the Wolves and Grizzlies was the friendly rivalry between Tee Morant and Karl Towns Sr. The elder Towns was sitting next to Tee Morant during Wednesday's game, which was the first for Minnesota without Karl-Anthony Towns after he suffered a right calf strain and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Edwards was Him, at least for one night. The 21-year-old scored 11 points in the first quarter and let his defense do the talking in the second and third quarters when he scored just one point. In the fourth quarter, he took over the way the best players in the NBA are known to do.
Edwards' final line: 29 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 5 steals.
"It could be one of his most complete games he's played since I've been with him. Every facet. He made the big plays, he made the little plays. He played all the way through the game. He really imposed himself offensively and defensively, gave us great life," head coach Chris Finch said of Edwards.
"His voice in the locker room is growing and growing. It's great to see and much needed for this team. He's got it in him. He's an extremely likable teammate. Everyone believes that when he you have him on the floor he's going to do great things. And now he's learning how to back it up with some words to help his teammates."
That's the kind of performance Minnesota needs from Edwards every night. It's that fourth-quarter mentality the greats have.
"Come fourth quarter, bring it to The Ticket," Kevin Garnett famously said.
How about Iman Shumpert's incredible story about playing Kobe Bryant? Shumpert played Kobe well for three quarters and then at the start of the fourth Kobe told him, "Kid, you had a great game." Kobe killed him in the fourth and the Lakers won.
Edwards has a chance to be an all-time great. Patrick Beverley said he has Michael Jordan-level ability. He just has to do it night in and night out. Wednesday was a step in the right direction.
