After Anthony Edwards saves Vs. Sixers, Chris Finch challenges them

Sometimes a hero just has to bind to the cloak and save the day.

The Timberwolves needed to save on Saturday evening in Philadelphia, when Quentin Grimes has become nuclear in the last four minutes of play to put the minnesota in danger of dropping a game not to be missed to the spectral remains of the 76er. They were clinging to an advantage in two points with less than 14 seconds to play when Edwards entitled the ball on the sidelines, then went and got it from a bottled Rudy Gobert.

The Sixers did what every team does when they face the Timberwolves in a close match along the stretch – they doubled Edwards to try to take off the ball from the hands. But there was a problem for Edwards. The shooting watch was running out, having just sprung up less than 2 seconds while looking for a way out of the mess where it was. He shot by 360 degrees, so he took a quick escape to his right, just to find that there was not far from prevention.

With a looming turnover, Edwards just got up and shot despair. Not only did he enter, but he touched the net as an Olympic diving strikes the water, with just a tremor from the net. The shot closed one night of 37 points for Edwards and gave wolves the fifth consecutive victory, 114-109 on Philadelphia.

Horse 🤯 pic.twitter.com/zep7rxpavs

– Minnesota Timberwolves (@timberwolves) April 6, 2025

With nobody surprise, including the vocal contingent of fans in Philadelphia who encouraged you for their Sixers, Edwards was confident in the shot even before getting up to shoot him.

“When he left my hand, I swear on God, people will think I’m lying, but I knew they were entering,” Edwards said, according to the team’s social media team.

“You put them away, killer,” said Punta Mike Conley’s guard. “You put them away. My boyfriend.”

It was a blow of hero from a hero’s player, and he couldn’t have come in a better moment for Timber’s desperate wolves. There are 14-3 in the last 17 games, but it was not enough to cement a place among the first six in the Western Conference. Apparently every time the wolves win a game, the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers also win, making it impossible for them to obtain any type of separation in the search for the sixth.

At present, the wolves (46-32) are in the sixth seed because they own the tiebreaker in a three-tie with the Los Angeles Clippers (seventh) and Memphis Grizzlies (eighth). They are also a game behind Golden State Di Quinto Seme (46-31), a match behind Denver of the fourth seed (47-31) and 1 1/2 games behind the Lakers of the third seed (47-30). It is an absurd race with four games to be done for Minnesota, with games in Milwaukee and Memphis next week, followed by two at home against Brooklyn and Utah to finish the regular season.

A loss for this Sixers team would have been disastrous.

The wolves often played the minor competition this year and on Friday it was no exception. The 76er were almost all in this game. Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrus Maxey, Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry, Eric Gordon and Jared McCain did not play everyone. Still, Philly was at stake throughout the course.

The wolves led from 11 to four minutes from the end, but Grimes hit three 3 consecutive episodes to cut the advantage at 104-101 with 2:12 to play, and Guerschon Yabusele hit a couple of free shots to bring the Sixer inside one. Edwards replied with a 3 -bank 3 and a Midrance bank for the slightest piece of breath.

Just when the minnesota seemed to have wrapped everything, Grimes had a theft and a dunk and another 3 to get the score 111-109. He scored 17 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and did so He clarified that Luka Dončić is not the only dangerous offensive player The Dallas Mavericks have given up on the commercial deadline.

The Sixers seemed to be in a privileged position to recover the ball with the possibility of tieing or winning the game when they blocked Edwards near the side line. But Edwards just got up for both defenders in front of him and let the type of hit hardly be that the player’s development coach Chris Hines has helped him to add to his game since he entered the championship in 2020.

“I had no one to launch it to,” Edwards said to Fanduel Sports North after the game. “I knew I just needed enough space to shoot. I work on all those blows every day with C-Hines. Great screams to him.”

When the shot passed, he touched a wild celebration on the side line of the wolves. But it probably came more for relief than from excitement. Each game is essential now, yet they still have nights like this in which a team that has no suspended business with them does it and more.

“Sometimes we seemed to be trying to return them, but it was enough games to win,” said the coach Chris Finch.

Rudy Gobert spent another night of monsters with 23 points and 19 rebounds, making 10 of his 11 shots and also obtaining three blocks and two thefts. Gobert has seven double doubles, including two in a row with at least 20 points out of at least 90 percent of shooting with 15 or more rebounds. Wilt Chamberlain, who did it three times, is only another player who publishes such numbers in consecutive games.

“He refuses to let us go on nights like this when you could argue that we would probably have had to,” Finch said. “All thanks for him. We need more guys who play with that intentionality.”

This was the second consecutive game that Finch seemed not impressed after a victory. The wolves confused for a Brooklyn Tanking victory Thursday and Finch said he needs to see more urgently from his players with the stakes so high.

“It was what we have been throughout the season and he is disappointing,” said Finch. “Start with the survival of our mistakes. We had a lot of guys who didn’t play particularly well today, and the energy goes down.”

Jaden McDaniels was particularly slow, going to 0 by 6 with two points and three rebounds. When Grimes began to cook it in the fourth quarter, Finch went to Nickeil Alexander-Walker in an attempt to slow it down. McDaniels often seems one of the major guilty when it comes to not playing well against the lower competition, but it was not only on Saturday evening.

Julius Randle had 15 rather quiet points, five rebounds and four assists and Naz Reid was 0 for 5 of 3 and had five turnover.

“We must have Ant and Giulio lead offensively,” said Finch. “Our offense is Sputtering. Unfortunately, the last two games that our offense went to slow departures. We have to make more energy games to make the boys go on.”

Edwards did his part, going to 12 by 21 from the field, of which 6 by 13 from Deep. Now he has hit a 303 3 of league leaders in this season, becoming the fifth player in the history of the NBA to exceed 300 brands in one season. Steph Curry did it five times. The wolves needed each of them on Saturday evening.

This is not time that the energy immerses itself. The wolves are fighting for their playoff lives and none of their immediate competitors are giving a thumb. They may have won five in a row, but also the warriors. The Clippers have won four consecutive and are 8-2 in the last 10 to 7-3 of the Minnesota.

The wolves could have had some luck with the antic explosion to avoid what would have been another assassin loss for a bad team. The program is slightly more favorable in the stretch. But as Finch said, it may not be a good thing for them.

(Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)