Anthony Edwards Explains Why Its Hard to 'Shut Down' Thunder After Matchup Saturday

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On Saturday, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 102-97 in a very, very weird game. It was a big game for the Western Conference standings as the No. 2 seeded Thunder now trail the No. 1 seeded Timberwolves by one game.
With the top two teams in the West taking each other on, the game went just as expected. While it was a sluggish, defense-oriented game, it was close and came down to the final few possessions.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished the game with 33 points while shooting 10-of-22 from the field and knocking down 12 of his 13 attempted free throws. He had a good fourth quarter to help put the Timberwolves away.
The matchup featured a battle between Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards, two of the best players on top teams in the Western Conference. Edwards finished with 19 points while shooting 6-of-10 from the field and he was not happy after the game. He was asked about how hard it is do beat the Thunder.
"It’s hard to with the calls that Shai gets. It’s hard to shut them down. You can’t touch him any time of the game. It’s super hard to beat. That team is a good team, especially when they’re getting calls like that."
Essentially, Edwards threw a backhanded compliment by following up calling them a good team and then going right back to talking about foul calls. Edwards shot ten free throws, just three less than Gilgeous-Alexander.
Now, the two teams always seem to have interesting matchups against each other, and the game provided a close, fun matchup, and some bickering between Edwards and the Thunder would set up for a fun season finale.
Both teams are tough to beat and ending the four-game win streak by taking down the No. 1 seed on their home floor is a huge win for the Thunder as they look to mount a small winning streak after the two straight wins.
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Kade has been covering a wide variety of teams ranging from the NFL to the NBA and college athletics since joining Sports Illustrated's On SI in 2022.