Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards suffers second knee scare in as many games, but again returns to action

Jace Frederick, Pioneer Press
·3 min read
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For the second time in as many games, Anthony Edwards hobbled off the floor, clutching a knee. And each time, he returned to action.

On Saturday, Edwards left the first quarter Game 4 holding his right knee. He hobbled off into the locker room with the help of Minnesota’s training staff. But minutes later, he sprinted back onto the floor and re-entered the contest soon after.

It was a similar scene to Game 3, when Edwards stood on the court, clutching his left knee in the second half of Minnesota’s Game 3 loss at Target Center. Timberwolves fans were holding their collective breaths. Edwards has battled tendinopathy on and off in the second half of the season.

But Edwards said Thursday’s pain, caused by a collision, had no effect on that.

He was impacted by the pain down the stretch Thursday. He didn’t play particularly well in the fourth quarter of the loss — something that can also said about all of his teammates.

Edwards was feeling better ahead of Saturday’s Game 4 tilt.

“It’s the playoffs, everybody playing through something,” Edwards said, “so it’s no complaints there.”

TYUS SHINES

Tyus Jones received a few boos from his hometown fans Thursday, something his younger brother, Spurs point guard Tre Jones, noted on Twitter.

It was no matter for the Apple Valley product. The Grizzlies’ point guard responded with a game-altering performance. Jones tallied 11 points, five rebounds and four assists in 14 minutes. He hit three triples, including the one that gave Memphis its first lead of the game in the final frame.

Jones checked into the game with the Grizzlies trailing by 22 points late in the third quarter. He subbed out with Memphis leading by one.

“As a kid from Minnesota, you think of and dream of those moments, playoff basketball at Target Center. That’s the NBA team you grew up watching in an NBA arena, so you dream of those moments,” Jones said. “Yeah, I was just really ready for it. I prepared, worked my (butt) off to be ready in those moments. My teammates and coaches trusted me to deliver in those moments when the game gets intense like that. So those are moments that I dream about, and I was just ready for it.”

That he did it with Gersson Rosas, the Timberwolves’ former president of basketball operations, in the building was all the more fitting. It was Rosas’ unwillingness to pay Jones during the summer of 2019 that led Jones to Memphis.

FINCH TAKES BLAME FOR NO TIMEOUT

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch took plenty of heat for not taking a timeout during Memphis’ 21-0 second-half run that flipped Thursday’s game. He did note that there was a quarter break in the midst of that run. So any timeout would’ve had to come during the Grizzlies’ 16-0 run to start the fourth quarter.

“Looking back, of course maybe we could’ve called a timeout, right?” Finch said. “I had, other than (D’Angelo Russell), probably our most experienced team out there. Of course I look at all these things and in hindsight, I should’ve called a timeout, and that’s on me. Do timeouts really stop runs? I don’t know.”

They didn’t help at the end of the first half. Finch called two timeouts in the midst of Memphis’ 15-0 run to close the second quarter to no avail. Still, perhaps a timeout in the fourth quarter could’ve helped.

“We still have to execute, we’ve still got to put the ball in the basket, we’ve still got to get stops,” Finch said. “But yeah, for sure, it’s a regretful mistake, I’ve got to own that. I told the team (Friday) in film.”

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