Anthony Edwards Steals Game 1 for the Timberwolves. But He Nearly Lost It.

Things got a bit hairy for Anthony Edwards and the Wolves in the closing minutes of Game 1 in San Antonio.

Edwards tallied 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting in Game 1 against San Antonio. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Anthony Edwards wasn’t expected to play Monday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Spurs. He did anyway, and when the final horn sounded, he had 18 points in the Timberwolves’ 104–102 upset win over the Spurs at Frost Bank Center.

But when Edwards joined the NBC broadcast after the game, he didn’t want to talk about his 18 points on an efficient 8-of-13 shooting just nine days after he suffered a devastating knee injury in the first round of the postseason, or his incredible fadeaway three-pointer over the outstretched arm of Victor Wembanyama.

Instead, Edwards looked straight into the NBC cameras with a look of a kid who forgot his school project at home. He turned in a rather harsh critique of himself, just seconds after the Wolves took an unexpected 1–0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

“I made so many mistakes at the end of the game. I’m disappointed in myself,” Edwards said. “For me, 75% of the game is my mind. My mind got to be where it needs to be. The last two minutes of the game it wasn’t. I gave up two offensive rebounds, turned the ball over. I’ll be better.”

Later in the interview, Edwards doubled down.

“We’ve just got to stay locked in on the game plan. Especially myself; I can’t give up two offensive rebounds to Champagnie,” Edwards said. “I may not be as athletic as I usually am, but I’ve got to be able to box out and make those small plays to win the big-time games.”

Edwards, although he played fantastic all night, did make a few costly errors down the stretch. He allowed Champagnie to put back a Devin Vassell miss to cut the Wolves’ lead to five with 1:34 left, and on the next possession, Edwards surrendered two offensive boards and a bucket to Champagnie to make it a four-point game.

Edwards’s biggest mistake, though, came with 34.4 seconds to play while the Wolves still led by four. Edwards tried to inbound a pass to Julius Randle but misfired, and the Spurs stole the basketball and made it a one-possession game with a layup on the other end. That set up San Antonio’s eventual attempt at a game-winning triple at the buzzer, but Champagnie’s shot clanked off the rim.

2-POINT GAME IN SAN ANTONIO.

LESS THAN 1 MINUTE TO GO IN GAME 1. pic.twitter.com/va4pn9ylTs

— NBA (@NBA) May 5, 2026

JULIAN CHAMPAGNIE'S SHOT AT THE BUZZER RIMS OUT AND THE WOLVES TAKE GAME 1! pic.twitter.com/vwe3s3gUNq

— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) May 5, 2026

Again, Edwards played incredible. The Timberwolves would not have won Game 1 without him. He wasn’t expected to be back on the floor until later in the series against San Antonio, if at all. His postgame comments taking accountability are the sound of a grizzled playoff veteran who, through five years of playoff experience, knows he probably got away with one against a young, inexperienced and talented Spurs team.

That was a theme all night. Even when they trailed by as many as seven points, the Timberwolves always felt like the battle-tested veteran team that was in control the entire game. When the Spurs landed a punch (and there were plenty—Wembanyama tallied an NBA playoff-record 12 blocks), Minnesota always had a response. Mike Conley, 38, nailed four three-pointers. Julius Randle played bully ball when needed. Edwards, the man who has taken the Wolves past the first round of the playoffs in a franchise-record three straight years, scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to close out the win.

Playoff experience is one of those stale NBA clichés that are often discussed on morning talk shows and pregame panels this time of year. But on Monday night in San Antonio, the Timberwolves looked—and sounded—like the grizzled veterans in the series.

“Coming off an emotional series like we just had [against Denver], in years past I think we would’ve come into this series a little more giddy,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “... We weren’t. We were able to level set and have the right approach coming into tonight and recognize that it’s a whole nother series.”

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