{"id":600989,"date":"2026-04-23T05:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T05:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/600989\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T05:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T05:20:11","slug":"t-wolves-are-getting-the-superstar-energy-they-need-from-edwards-in-a-tight-series-with-the-nuggets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/600989\/","title":{"rendered":"T-wolves are getting the superstar energy they need from Edwards in a tight series with the Nuggets"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS \u2013 The Minnesota Timberwolves got the superstar bump they needed from Anthony Edwards to win Game 2<\/a> at Denver and square up their intensifying first-round playoff<\/a> series with the Nuggets.<\/a><\/p>\n

Edwards contributed 30 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and a loud voice of encouragement for his teammates. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch had already been reassured by Edwards’ influence<\/a> as the four-time All-Star left the court following a lackluster performance in Game 1.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was calm and gave confidence to the guys,\u201d Finch said, reflecting on the series opener after practice on Wednesday. \u201cWhen we were down early and big, he was really into them with the right messages, to stay calm but to do the things that were asked to be done \u2014 put a little bit more work in, be a little smarter with the fouling, all that kind of stuff. So I thought that was really key.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards was instrumental in urging Rudy Gobert on to a dominant defensive effort<\/a> against Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic. He has also demonstrated his leadership by playing through the right knee pain that sidelined him for 11 of the last 13 regular-season games.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely uplifts me. I feel like I can\u2019t let him down. If he\u2019s out there battling, then there\u2019s no excuse why I can\u2019t give my best and make the extra effort plays and just go out there and compete at the highest level,\u201d teammate Julius Randle said.<\/p>\n

For the Timberwolves to beat the team that has recently become their biggest rival three more times and reach the second round, they will need a steady supply of Edwards’ energy on both ends of the court, on the bench and in the locker room.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets are sure to bring their own moxie on the road<\/a> to Minnesota for Game 3 between these well-matched opponents on Thursday. The other Game 3s on Thursday are New York at Atlanta and Cleveland at Toronto.<\/p>\n

Over the last four years, including the regular season and playoffs, the Timberwolves and Nuggets have each won 15 of their last 30 meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho doesn\u2019t love a big game? Who doesn\u2019t want to wake up for a game with a lot of excitement, a lot of back and forth in it?\u201d Timberwolves sixth man Naz Reid said.<\/p>\n

New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n

When\/Where to watch: Game 3, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)<\/p>\n

Series: Tied 1-1.<\/p>\n

Betting line: Knicks by 1 1\/2.<\/p>\n

What to know: The Knicks were outscored 28-15 by the upstart Hawks in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden in Game 2,<\/a> a one-point loss to stew on as they seek to regain home-court advantage in the series. Even in the Game 1 win, the Knicks saw a 19-point lead with a little more than three minutes left shrink to eight in the closing seconds. \u201cWe’ve got to play better with the lead,\u201d point guard Jalen Brunson said. The Hawks have plenty of reason for optimism as they come home, considering they split the first two games with little beyond the clutch play of veteran C.J. McCollum<\/a> to relish from their performance.<\/p>\n

Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors<\/p>\n

When\/Where to watch: Game 3, 8 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)<\/p>\n

Series: Cavaliers lead 2-0.<\/p>\n

Betting line: Cavaliers by 3 1\/2.<\/p>\n

What to Know: The Cavs are seeking a 3-0 lead in a first-round series for the second straight year. If they get there, they would set an NBA postseason opponent record with a 13th straight playoff win over the Raptors. Donovan Mitchell has scored at least 30 points in six of his last seven playoff games, averaging 33.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists during that span. Cleveland is 21-7 when its lineup includes James Harden, who became the second player in franchise history with at least 28 points and five steals in the 115-105 win in Game 2<\/a> on Monday. Toronto point guard Immanuel Quickley has missed the first two games with a left hamstring strain and remains questionable. Raptors All-Star Brandon Ingram is aiming to bounce back after going 3 of 15 from the field and only scoring seven points in Game 2. \u201cHe\u2019s our go-guy guy. We trust him and believe in him. We know he\u2019s going to get shots to drop,\u201d Scottie Barnes said.<\/p>\n

Denver Nuggets at Minnesota Timberwolves<\/p>\n

When\/Where to watch: Game 3, 9:30 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)<\/p>\n

Series: Tied 1-1.<\/p>\n

Betting line: Nuggets by 2 1\/2.<\/p>\n

What to know: With so much recent drama between these division rivals \u2014 who are facing off in the postseason for the third time in four years \u2014 and plenty of chippy play on the court over the first two games, this series is just getting started. After erasing a 19-point deficit early in the second quarter to win 119-114 in Game 2, Minnesota took some momentum home from the Mile High City. Edwards recorded his sixth 30-point game against Denver in 14 playoff meetings, and guard Donte DiVincenzo was all over the court with a game-high plus-20 rating and 16 points. He’s 10 for 16 from 3-point range in the series. The Nuggets claimed to be unbothered by the postgame barb from Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, who said Minnesota’s best offensive strategy was to continue to directly attack the Nuggets because they’re \u201call bad defenders.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in New York and AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Cleveland contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/NBA<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS \u2013 The Minnesota Timberwolves got the superstar bump they needed from Anthony Edwards to win Game 2…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":600990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[31513,191220,158985,13054,56232,42234,114221,36783,6418,6424,78366,355,1756,92429,25166,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-600989","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-anthony-edwards","9":"tag-c-j-mccollum","10":"tag-chris-finch","11":"tag-donovan-mitchell","12":"tag-donte-divincenzo","13":"tag-immanuel-quickley","14":"tag-jaden-mcdaniels","15":"tag-jalen-brunson","16":"tag-james-harden","17":"tag-julius-randle","18":"tag-naz-reid","19":"tag-nba","20":"tag-nikola-jokic","21":"tag-rudy-gobert","22":"tag-scottie-barnes","23":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}