Dave McMenaminmay 7, 2025, 02:41 AM ET
ESPN’s Clawrecker and NBA Reporter. ESPNLOSANGELES.com’s Lakers and NBA, 2014-18 Cavaliers covered ESPN.com’s Cavaliers and NBA’s NBA in 2005-09.
Minneapolis – Minnesota coach Chris Finch took on a performance of franchise star Anthony Edwards after the Timberwolves dropped Game 1 of the Western Conference Semi-Final Series despite early exit of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.
“It starts with ant,” Finch said Tuesday night following the wolves’ 99-88 loss. “I thought he had a hard time, so I could see the light coming out for a while.”
Edwards was fourth in the league in scoring averages during the regular season with 27.6 points per game, but scored total points at halftime with an 8-8 shooting. Minnesota chased 44-31 on a break.
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He missed the first 10 shots in all before making the basket, scoring 23 points in a 9-23 shooting, including a 1-5 for 3-pointers.
After Curry’s left hamstring tension scored 13 points in 13 minutes, the wolves were unable to make many dents, even after leaving the game in the second quarter. Golden State led by 23 points, with Minnesota not cutting the deficit more than the nine points in the second half.
Finch said addressing the spirit of 23-year-old Edwards should not be something he has to coach at this stage of the postseason.
“You’re the leader of the team,” Finch said. “You have to come out and set the tone. If your shot isn’t moving forward, you still have to carry energy. If I have to talk to people about having the right energy for the opening second round game, we’re not on the same page.”
Edwards, who stole two in the first half while Minnesota held Golden State to 44 points with 37.2% shooting, pointed to his defense as evidence that his efforts weren’t as out of the way Finch believes.
The three-time All-Star still embraced potentially loss-related criticism.
“People blame what they blame, everyone tries to take responsibility, they can blame me,” Edwards said. “[But] We just didn’t play well. ”
He wasn’t the only Minnesota player with a low performance. Julius Randle, who averaged 22.6 points in a 48.1% shooting in a first-round series victory with the Los Angeles Lakers, shot 11-4 on Tuesday, earning as many turnovers as he did three rebounds. Starting point guard Mike Conley was scoreless, making it 5-5. Donte Divincenzo tallied 7 points with 11-3 shooting (3-7-7) from the bench.
“It’s frustrating, but I’m encouraged,” Randle said. “As a team, there are so many things we can do better.
“We can’t hurt ourselves. We feel like we did that tonight.”
Minnesota Center’s Rudy Goat said the long wait to start the second round – the Warriors fought the Houston Rockets for seven games but had an impact on the team.
“Maybe we had to prepare to play a high-intensity game,” Goat said. “Even though we were practicing, we haven’t played for six days, and I don’t think we really felt the strength.”
The wolves shot 0-15 from the first half. There was a team’s first half without three games since 2018, and a first half in three playoff games since 2004, with no 29-29 matches being played.
According to ESPN’s research, between a closeout victory in LA in the first round and an opener in the second round, the Wolves scored the worst two-game 3-point shooting stretch in NBA playoff history (15.8%) (3-point attempts of a minimum of 50).
“We didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, but tonight is over,” Edwards said. “So the next game will shoot the ball really well.”
“People blame what they blame, everyone tries to take responsibility. They can blame me,” Anthony Edwards said. “[But] We just didn’t play well. “Abbie Parr/AP
Finch also aimed to execute his team’s first break despite the Warriors’ committing 18 turnovers.
“Our transition decisions were demonic,” Finch said. “Obviously we couldn’t hit a shot, but we didn’t like the fact that we couldn’t produce good shots over and over again. We could have done it.”
Conley, a 37-year-old elder politician for wolves, said the wolves will have something good for Game 2 on Thursday.
“I’m hoping for a response,” Conley said. “We all felt that we played as badly as possible. We gave them credits, but we weren’t there all along. I think we’re ready because there are so many mental errors, a lot of mental errors, and a lot of things we know we can change.”
