Anthony Edwards received one heck of a blueprint for how to dominate a basketball game on Wednesday night at Target Center.
Zion Williamson used his physicality to dominate the game, getting easy shots for himself and others, even for a depleted New Orleans team, even on a night where he did not receive a friendly whistle.
The forward elevated everyone around him, and he led the Pelicans past a far superior Wolves team because of it by a 119-115 score.
Williamson finished with 29 points on 12-for-16 shooting, while also tallying eight assists. He drove through contact, getting to the rim even when Minnesota committed two or even three bodies to him. And when there was no lane, he got off the ball and freed up his teammates for an easy shot.
It was an offensive masterclass, and a reminder that Williamson is potentially one of the few players in the NBA who bring a team a championship as the best player on a roster. Minnesota certainly had no answer for him.
Minnesota has now lost two straight fresh off the heels of its eight-game winning streak, both against teams it was heavily favored to beat. The talk of the NBA last week, Minnesota has sunk into a number of its old bad habits. Not enough defensive intensity, not enough ball movement. Not winning basketball.
Minnesota hit 41% of its triple tries in the loss and got to the line 36 times, but turned the ball over 14 times and was outrebounded handily. Minnesota had just 21 assists.
Edwards was 5 for 19 from the floor in the loss. On a night where his teammates needed to be elevated, he didn’t deliver in the same way Williamson did.
If Minnesota is to contend deep into the postseason, or even rally past Golden State for the No. 6 seed in the West to avoid the play-in, that needs to change.
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