The Timberwolves were trailing Utah by one midway through the third quarter Monday in Utah when Anthony Edwards took flight.

Cutting down the lane in transition with only John Collins standing between the guard and the basket, Edwards elevated in a way that only he knows how. The 22-year-old took off from seemingly 10 feet away and soared up and through Collins, throwing down on the forward for and-1 dunk that put Minnesota in front, silencing the Utah crowd and setting social media ablaze.

“HAAA. Oh my god. That’s my best dunk of my career, I’m not gonna lie,” Edwards said in his postgame, on-court television interview. “I didn’t even react because I dislocated my finger. I wish I could’ve reacted to it.”

Collins left the game and didn’t return with an eye contusion.

Injured Wolves rookie Jaylen Clark aptly tweeted after the game: “Just witnessed a homicide.”

Edwards dislocated the finger on the off hand that mashed into Collins’ face, but got it put back into place and taped up during Minnesota’s ensuing timeout.

And he never looked back from there. As he’s been wont to do of late, Edwards took over the contest, controlling the game with relative ease.

He scored 25 points of his 32 points over the final two quarters to power Minnesota to a 114-104 victory over the Jazz.

“We’ve seen several of those rim attacks at the end of transition like that,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters. “I thought that was what flipped the game around for us from an emotional point of view. We needed a really big play.”

Edwards also tallied eight assists and seven boards. Utah simply didn’t have an answer for the guard. Edwards got to his spots in the mid range and buried jumpers.

When Utah resorted to double teams, Edwards made the right plays. In the fourth quarter, he went 5 for 6 from the field for 13 points to go with three rebounds and two assists.

For the second half, Edwards had those 25 points, six boards, six assists and zero turnovers. It was one of the better halves of basketball you’ll see played.

“That’s just who I am,” Edwards said. “In the big moments, I love to have the ball in my hands, I love to take the shot.”

That was exactly the type of performance Minnesota needed in a second half where it was without all three of its top big men. Karl-Anthony Towns remains out with the torn meniscus. Rudy Gobert missed his second-straight game with a rib sprain. After scoring 17 first-half points, Naz Reid didn’t play in the second half of Monday’s game against the Jazz (29-39) due to a head injury.

“He knows when guys are out and get down and we’re short-handed that he’s got to step up,” Finch said. “Spectacular play.”

Edwards has noted in the past how much he enjoys playing in small-ball lineups. It got no smaller than what Minnesota trotted out over the final 24 minutes in Utah.

Kyle Anderson was often the center playing alongside four guards and wings. There were times when Edwards was the one setting the screen at the top of the floor in pick-and-roll actions.

The floor was consistently spaced to the point where Edwards was a conductor with every option available to him on the floor. And he was, indeed a maestro. When he wasn’t getting his own offense, he was finding teammates. As a team, Minnesota drained 16 3-pointers.

Jordan McLaughlin (3 for 3 from deep), Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Luka Garza and Monte Morris all hit multiple triples off the bench.

The win was massive for Minnesota for a multitude of reasons.

The Wolves need all the divisional victories they can get as a potential tiebreaker for seeding purposes over both Oklahoma City and Denver as the three teams jostle for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Wolves (47-21) are currently tied with Denver in the standings, and just a half-game back of the Thunder.

Also, the currently short-handed Wolves have a date at home Tuesday with Denver. And Monday’s win eases a little of the urgency heading into that bout.

“As a group, collectively, we came together (on the floor) right before the third quarter started and (Anderson) was like, ‘Hey, we need this game. We’ve got Denver tomorrow, we missing key players, so we need this game,’” Edwards said. “So, we kind of took it personal, and I’m glad my teammates stepped up tonight.”

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Chicago Bears guard Nate Davis paid $2.3 million in May for a five-bedroom, 5,537-square-foot house in Highland Park.

A Virginia native who previously had played for the Tennessee Titans, Davis signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Bears in March. He battled injuries in his first year with the team, including missing four games later in the season with a high ankle sprain.

Built in 2003 and designed by Evanston architect Michael Hershenson, Davis’ new house has five bathrooms, three fireplaces, a kitchen with a butler’s pantry, a family room with built-ins and a wall of windows and a wood-paneled study on the first floor. Other features include a four-season sunroom that offers ravine views and a primary suite with a second office, a private screened porch, dual custom walk-in closets and heated floors.

Downstairs on the lower level, the house has a game room, a kitchenette and a fitness room.

The house sits on a 1.28-acre property and is accessed via a wooded private drive.

The agent who represented Davis, Paul Gorney of eXp Realty, could not be reached for comment.

The house had a $52,785 property tax bill in the 2022 tax year.

Bob Goldsborough is a freelance writer.

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Seven men’s college basketball programs said they would not RSVP if asked to play in the National Invitational Tournament.

But not the Gophers, they jumped at the chance to continue their season.

Minnesota will end a four-year postseason drought in a first round NIT matchup against Butler at 8 p.m. on Tuesday in Indianapolis.

“There was zero consideration,” head coach Ben Johnson on the possibility they would pass on playing in the NIT. “We were hoping for this.”

But Indiana, St. John’s, Memphis, Syracuse, Mississippi, Pittsburgh, and Oklahoma said no thanks to being in the 32-team NIT. The opening of the NCAA transfer portal on Monday appeared to be a main reason for bailing.

St. John’s coach Richard Pitino said his team will start to “prepare for next season.” The Sooners said it was for the “well-being of our student-athletes.”’

The Hoosiers said they would not play in the NIT last week during the Big Ten tournament at Target Center, turning their attention to recruiting and roster management.

“This thing (the portal) is going to come very quickly,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said after Friday’s 93-66 quarterfinal loss to Nebraska. “We’ve got to be in a position to do our due diligence and our homework on these players.”

Johnson said this year’s postseason experience will be a dry run for his program, which has aspirations of making the NCAA tournament next year.

“It gives you a way to figure out a way to structure it for years to come,” Johnson said. “(The portal) is not going anywhere. It’s a perfect way for us to navigate this new space.”

Both preparing a roster for next season and playing in the current postseason can be done at the same time, Johnson insisted.

“There is enough time in the day, if you are organized,” Johnson said. “You can deal with the portal, and deal with taking calls and deal with players on your team. I’m a firm believer we can find time.”

Johnson said he asked players if they wanted to compete in the NIT, and the answer was a resounding “yes.”

“Our guys wanted to. They really expressed that they were excited to keep playing,” Johnson said. “I think they know this could be a good building block and momentum swing for us leading into the spring and summer, and next year.”

Former Indiana, Marquette and Georgia head coach Tom Crean blasted the teams that opted out.

“There’s no question about it, I would want to coach,” Crean said Sunday on ESPN2. “I would want to develop my team. You’ve got bigger staffs than you’ve ever had. There’s plenty of time for the portal. There’s plenty of time to talk to recruits. There’s plenty of time to negotiate NIL deals.

“There’s not plenty of time to play. There’s not plenty of time to get your players on the floor and give them a chance to get better. There’s not plenty of time for guys to continue to play that may never get to play again, and that to me is absolutely ridiculous.”

Crean said it’s fine if players want to opt out of postseason games. College football has been dealing with that in bowl games for years. But the games should go on.

Johnson also mentioned a few times Monday how the Gophers were picked to finish dead last, 14th, in the Big Ten Conference in the preseason and how they proved those pundits wrong with a ninth-place finish with a 9-11 record in league play.

There appears to be a chip on their shoulders motivating them, too.

“I don’t think any of us have forgotten that,” Johnson said. “When you are picked last and you don’t have many expectations of you or of us as a program, to be able to play in a reputable national postseason tournament, our guys are excited to go play.”

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New Chicago White Sox infielder Nicky Lopez is enjoying the most unforgettable offseason of his life.

That was true even before receiving an honor Friday that he said ranks among the best of his accomplishments.

“It’s been an eventful offseason, for sure,” Lopez said. “A day before I got married, I got traded from the Braves to the White Sox.

“That was something I won’t take for granted, just to be able to come back and play for a hometown team, which is something special.”

But getting the call for the Naperville Central Athletic Hall of Fame is equally special for Lopez, 28, who graduated from the school in 2013 after earning five varsity letters in baseball and basketball. He was inducted Friday, joining a Hall of Fame that already included Candace Parker, Anthony Parker, Owen Daniels, Sean Payton and Casey Krueger.

“100 percent it’s up there, only because it means so much not only to me but my family,” Lopez said. “This is where it started.

“This is a steppingstone for the journey that I’m still on. So that’s what I’m most thankful for, that I’m coming back and seeing all the teachers who have helped me become who I am. That’s why it’s a little bit more special.”

Those teachers include Naperville Central basketball coach Pete Kramer and baseball coach Mike Stock, who were proud to be part of the induction ceremony held before the boys basketball game against Neuqua Valley.

“It being Nicky, there was a lot of excitement in the building, and that would have been the case even if he was playing for the Braves,” Stock said. “But the fact he’s with the Sox adds another layer.

“It’s just a blast. It’s one of the rewards that you get from being around people like this all the time. We want to make sure we slow it down and celebrate. He’s a great young man from a great family.”

Also inducted Friday were 2006 graduate Erica Carter, who helped Naperville Central’s girls basketball team win two state titles and scored more than 1,000 points at Binghamton; pioneering female athlete Lois Madsen, a 1975 graduate who became the first person to earn a full volleyball scholarship at Northern Illinois; wrestling star Rodney Landorf, a 1962 graduate who became an Army officer and received a Bronze Star in the Vietnam War; and late wrestling coach Bill Young.

“I haven’t been back to Naperville since a few months after I graduated,” Carter said. “There are so many amazing times that happened throughout high school and my athletic career.

“Walking through the hallways, it brings back a lot of good memories, and I feel honored to be a part of the Hall of Fame. I know there are so many student-athletes that go through the building at Naperville Central, and it’s just been a day full of amazing memories.”

Lopez’s family, including his parents Bob and Angela and brothers Bobby and Anthony, still lives in Naperville. Angela Lopez presented him for induction.

“Obviously, this honor is humbling,” Nicky Lopez said. “You always hear each year of people getting inducted, so to be able to add to the list is awesome.”

After graduating from Naperville Central, Lopez played baseball at Creighton and was picked by the Kansas City Royals in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft. When the Royals called him up in 2019, he became the first Naperville Central graduate to play in the major leagues.

Lopez, who has a .249/.312/.319 career slash line, was a Gold Glove finalist at second base in 2020 and became the first Royals shortstop to hit .300 in 2021. He played parts of five seasons in Kansas City before being traded in July to the Braves, whom he helped win the National League East title.

Lopez said he is thrilled to join the White Sox, who acquired him in November.

“I grew up going to White Sox games,” he said. “I went to Game 2 of the World Series in 2005, so just being able to put the jersey on, wow, it’s cool.”

Long known for his humble, hardworking approach to the game, Lopez is quick to share credit for his ascent.

“When you come to high school, obviously you’re there to learn, but you’re there to grow and also learn life lessons, and these teachers every step of the way helped mold me,” he said. “Whether it was my English teacher or math teacher, we’ve all had conversations with them that have helped me get to where I’m at.

“I can’t thank them enough. They’ve done so good by me with all the respect and love that they’ve shown, and I keep in touch with them.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.

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