Playoff Ant made a mid-December appearance Friday night at Target Center, and it extended well beyond his phenomenal finish.
He’s every bit as good as you remember.
You can’t say enough about the tough step-back triple he made over a perfectly positioned Casson Wallace to put Minnesota up one with 38 seconds to play. Anthony Edwards then put the game on ice with a pair of dominant defensive plays – a block of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on one possession, then a steal on the reigning MVP the next to secure Minnesota’s 112-107 victory.
That was two-way, superstar domination.
The entire evening was, frankly. Even on a night when Edwards had to shake off the rust following a three-game absence to rest a sore foot, the all-star guard impacted the game in a variety of ways. He had three steals, two blocks and a season-high 12 boards, three more than his previous best rebounding total, all to go with an efficient 26 points.
Wolves assistant coach Micah Nori – who filled in for head coach Chris Finch after Finch was ejected just minutes into Friday’s affair – noted Finch held a film session Thursday in which he challenged guys to affect the game outside of their scoring. That’s something Edwards has struggled with at times this season.
“Obviously Ant makes plays for others, but just talking about going in, getting rebounds,” Nori said. “We always are on our smalls going in to rebound. And the one thing, Ant sometimes struggles to box out. If you don’t box out, go get the ball. And tonight he went and got 12 of them.”
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, right, celebrates his three-point basket as Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren, left, looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Edwards was also sharp defensively and never fought the game offensively. Yes, he tried to take over the game late with his shot – an ultimately successful mission – but that came on the heels of 36-plus minutes of proper decision making.
“Playing the right way, playing fast, playing quick-decision basketball for three and a half quarters, and then put the ball in his hands and he brings you home,” Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo said. “That’s a perfect recipe for us, because everybody else (on the opposing defense), they can’t react, they can’t, overload on him, and he made the right play the entire game.
“He’s an MVP candidate for a reason. At the end of the day we’re putting the ball in his hands, asking him to bring us home. That’s exactly what he did.”
Whatever was required to win. We’ve all seen it before. It’s the mode Edwards consistently shifts to in April and May, when numbers go to the wayside and stakes heighten.
You’ll always find Edwards’ best basketball in the thick of the fight. High-consequence competition is what he craves, and ultimately drives him to achieve.
To Edwards, the regular season is akin to a multi-hour session of playing a Call of Duty video game with friends. An hour in, he might spend a couple games running around with a suboptimal weapon just to see how many kills he can with it. After that, he may even crouch his character in a corner while he goes to the bathroom and grabs a snack.
Because camping out and with a sniper again and again and again – while always effective – can get a little boring.
But when things get serious, rest assured knowing you can count on him to return to his tower with his best weapon in tow to oversee and control the game from above and help his team achieve victory.
He wants to win when winning means the most. He wants to do what many believe can’t be done.
His interest is piqued by the seemingly impossible.
A chance to slay kings of the game such as LeBron, Luka and Jokic in the postseason? Edwards will be there with bells on.
An opportunity to hand the 25-2 defending NBA champions who are pursuing the NBA’s all-time best regular season a third loss? You knew there was no way he was missing this game.
“I was playing,” Edwards said. “I was playing.”
And he wasn’t going to squander his shot. There was no reckless pursuit of 50 points on Friday, nor a lackadaisical effort appearing to lack all urgency.
It was 41 minutes of determination and discipline, with his singular focus centered on the task at hand: Beat the Thunder.
Minnesota did just that, and Edwards was largely to thank.
“I loved his defense, his competitiveness. I thought he did a great job on the boards, too,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said. “And I thought he did the right play. It didn’t feel like he forced anything, and we won the game.”
They usually do when Edwards plays to that standard, which is why Minnesota wants him to hit it more frequently. Gobert said the Wolves put the necessary effort in when they know it’s required.
“You know what type of team we are,” Edwards said. “Sometimes we don’t always play to our level.”
But Gobert noted the Wolves need to understand if they want to advance far enough into the Western Conference playoffs to earn another seven-game series with the Thunder, “we’ve got to bring it every night.”
“It’s really important for us to realize that it’s almost like we face that team every night,” Gobert said, “because we know where we want to go.”
It starts and ends with Edwards, the almost elevator of a franchise. He’s proven he has the ability to flip the switch to “on” when he deems the stage and opponent worthy of his best.
But it’s also worth noting the value in more consistently producing such efforts during the regular season. As awesome as Edwards has been in recent postseasons, he has also appeared to run out of gas by Round 3.
Now is the time to continue to build up reserve fuel tanks for when his primary stock is burned down to empty by the conclusion of the conference semifinals. Another solution is to manipulate the game with your mind versus commandeering it via a physical chokehold.
Even on a night when the team shot poorly, Edwards’ unselfishness Friday resulted in a game in which Minnesota had six players score 13-plus points. That’s not including Gobert, who tallied nine points and 14 boards.
Edwards was able to control the contest while saving enough energy to finish the fight in the final minute. That’s not necessarily something Edwards would have done even prior to his recent absence.
“Credit to him, because when you’re out and you’re watching it – I was out last year. Julius was out last year – We came back and see the game differently,” DiVincenzo said. “I think that’s what happened for him. He just sees it differently and is (still) being aggressive.”
Perhaps this is even an improved Playoff Ant – one with few peers who is capable of making quite a few more appearances between now and the postseason. You know, just to make sure the motor is running well in preparation for League domination.
As of Friday, everything appeared to be in working order when revved up to max revolutions per minute. But there’s no need to immediately park this car back in the garage.
Edwards should take this truly elite version of his game out for another spin or 30 between now and April, just to see how fast it can go, and for how long.
It’s the best way to prepare the star guard for his ultimate challenge — getting the Timberwolves across the finish line in June.
The closer you are to the front near the end, the easier it is to win the race.
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