Is there anything opposing defenses can truly do with Anthony Edwards? At some point, teams have to be asking themselves that question after another scintillating show put on display in the second half Saturday in San Antonio.

The Spurs sport the NBA’s third-best defense. It’s nearly impossible to score on them when Victor Wembanyama occupies floor space.

Yet the Timberwolves superstar guard shredded San Antonio over the final two quarters. The Spurs, who led by 25 at the break, held on for a three-point victory, but only after surrendering 39 second-half points to Edwards, easily the most in a single half in the association this season.

The guard — who scored a career-high 55 points in the game — drilled eight triples over the final two frames, including five in a 26-point final frame that nearly sparked yet another remarkable come-from-behind victory.

“Made big shot after big shot,” Wolves coach Chris Finch told reporters. “He was inspirational.”

The performance came just a week after Edwards scored nine points in the final 5 minutes, 18 seconds in Minneapolis – including the game winner with 16 seconds to play – to down the Spurs at Target Center.

Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts after hitting a three but not getting a foul called on the San Antonio Spurs in the second half at Frost Bank Center on January 17, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)

Saturday was far more spectacular, as Edwards dissected one of the league’s best defenses with near surgical precision. When Wembanyama was on the floor, Edwards repeatedly fired off largely open step-in triples against the Frenchman’s drop pick-and-roll coverage.

When Wembanyama sat or when San Antonio pressed Edwards off the arc – a consistent defensive approach he faced in last year’s playoffs – Edwards looked for opportunities to attack the rim. When the lane was clogged, he found space for his mid-range jumper.

Each of those makes left Spurs defenders to either laugh in disbelief or star defeatedly into space.

When the Spurs finally started outright double-teaming Edwards, he got off the ball quickly, which resulted in multiple open 3-point attempts for Donte DiVincenzo.

Every question San Antonio asked of Edwards, he answered correctly and with clarity. Combine that with his supreme skill and shot making, and the Spurs’ only solution was to hit enough shots of their old to hold on.

Edwards has long been a supreme scorer, but the specific shot skills he’s added over the last two offseasons – combined with a renewed commitment to his finishing around the rim – has rendered the guard relatively unguardable.

When Edwards is highly motivated to score, he does so at will.

It’s why he touts the best true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentages in the NBA in clutch time this season – when games are within five points in margin with fewer than five minutes to play in regulation. He’s shooting 71% from the field and 61% from distance in that setting.

When Minnesota desperately needs points to win a game – particularly a game Edwards himself desperately wants to win – the 24 year old delivers.

There are 65 cases this year of NBA players scoring 25-plus points in the second half of a game – Edwards is responsible for five of them, which ties him with Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell for the league lead.

For reference, Gilgeous-Alexander has just one such second half (though, to be fair, the Thunder didn’t play many competitive games over their first 30 contests), the same number as Lakers wing Luka Doncic.

Edwards has played 19.5-plus second half minutes on 10 occasions this season, and has 23-plus points in six of those halves.

Winning time is his time. Edwards told reporters after Saturday’s game that he gets up to face Wembanyama, the supposed next face of the league. Any added motivation typically pushes Edwards’ cup of competitive juices over the edge, and sets off a combustion of dominant basketball.

Those chemical reactions are getting far more dangerous for opponents with each passing season, which bodes well for Minnesota’s chances at making another deep playoff run this spring, and strikes fear into the heart of every possible Western Conference opponent in Edwards’ potential path of destruction.

San Antonio included.

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The message from Wild coach John Hynes before a tough road game in Buffalo early Saturday was a simple one:

Even with five veteran players – three of them Olympians – sitting at home, there was a way to resume winning. The solution to their recent woes was in sitting inside the visitors’ locker room at KeyBank Center, adjacent to the frozen Buffalo River.

“What I said was we do have guys out of the lineup and…one person’s not going to replace the other one, but there are attributes to the game,” Hynes recounted, after his team built a lead, lost it, then won 5-4 in overtime versus the Sabres. “Guys are going to step up on the power play or penalty kill or 5-on-5, whatever role they’re going to be in, but we have capable players. We have guys that are in our lineup and hockey’s the game we all love, but winning is our business. We’re expected to win, regardless of who’s in the lineup, so we needed to go out there and prove it.”

With defensemen Jonas Brodin and Zach Bogosian, and the entire second line of Matt Boldy, Marcus Johansson and Joel Eriksson Ek all back in Minnesota getting healthier, the Wild had little-used newcomers like Hunter Haight (playing his third NHL game) in the lineup. And while Hynes liked the contributions from the fourth-liners, generally, he called upon veterans like Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman and Vladimir Tarasenko to step up and help hold the fort while they wait for reinforcements in the form of that injured quintet’s return.

It’s worth noting that Foligno, Hartman and Tarasenko all scored on Saturday, as the Wild won for the first time in more than a week.

“We needed those guys to come in. Obviously when you get into some injury issues like that it gives some different guys in your lineup opportunities to play,” Hynes said in praise of the veterans. “It’s not just the guys that might get recalled and get put in that haven’t been playing, so I thought those guys had real strong games and it’s good. They’re three veteran guys that we need to be able to come through for us in this time.”

And then there is the continued eye-popping play of Quinn Hughes, who was named the game’s No. 1 star. He had a goal and an assist, and has posted 18 points in the 17 games he has spent in a Wild uniform. His true value to Minnesota will surely be revealed in the spring, when the Wild look to get to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade, but with Vancouver sinking to the basement of the NHL standings, the blockbuster trade is looking like a solid win for Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin after a month.

Always seemingly his harshest critic, Hughes seemed less interested in his goal, which tied the game at the end of the second period, and more focused on why it was only his second in 17 games with the Wild.

“Honestly I just feel like I’ve had chances to score, Grade-As every game, and it just hasn’t gone for me,” he said. “And there’s years like last year, the year before that, it was going for me. Had a lot of good bounces over the years, and I just feel like I needed one.”

In overtime, with a Sabre in the penalty box, the Wild looked like their power play chance to win had gone for naught. Buffalo sent the puck out of the zone with a dozen seconds left in Minnesota’s man-advantage, seemingly killing the penalty, and two Sabres went for a line change. But Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson, seeing the Sabres were switching personnel, stepped up and fired the puck back to the offensive zone, to Kirill Kaprizov. He passed to Mats Zuccarello, who fired the overtime winner. It was the first assist of the season for Gustavsson.

On the road, versus the hottest team in hockey, with five players missing, the Wild learned much about what they still have, and what they will need to do, for the time being anyway.

“That’s all we wanted to do tonight, we wanted to compete. I think the last three games, I’d say the last two probably, our compete level was subpar,” Foligno said. “You get energy, you just try to do the things right all the time, and you find yourself going into the third period on the road and it gave us a chance. We miss those guys obviously dearly, but we’re not looking at excuses. That’s not the way we are around here.”

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MANUFACTURING

Laura Watterson

Andersen Corp., a Bayport-based maker of windows and doors for the residential market, announced it has named Laura Watterson senior vice president and chief human resources officer, succeeding Karen Richard, who has retired. Watterson previously was executive vice president and chief human resources officer at CWT, formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONS

Gregory J. Zimprich announced the launch of business communications consultancy Curtiss Partners in Victoria, Minn. Zimprich’s experience includes work with Fortune 500 organizations such as Medtronic, General Mills and Honeywell, as well as senior agency roles supporting national brands. … Latitude, a Minneapolis-based ad agency, announced the promotion of Allison Checco to CEO, succeeding founder Krista Carroll, who becomes chair. Checco previously was executive director of accounts; succeeding her in that position is Aaron O’Keefe, who was previously group account director. The agency has also said it has promoted Eric Husband to chief creative officer from executive director; James Robinson succeeds him in that role.

AIRPORTS

The Metropolitan Airports Commission announced it has selected Allison Winters as assistant director of strategic communications. She joins the MAC from Goff Public, where she served as director of public relations. Winters previously served on the MAC’s strategic communications team in 2023. MAC owns and operates Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and six general aviation airports in the Twin Cities metro.

AGRICULTURE

CHS, an Inver Grove Heights-based farmer-owned global agribusiness cooperative, announced the election of the following board members: Alan Holm, Sleepy Eye, Minn.; Kevin Throener, Cogswell, N.D.; Hal Clemensen, Aberdeen, S.D.; Mark Farrell, Cross Plains, Wis., and Jerrad Stroh, Juniata, Neb.

ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING

Nelson-Rudie and Associates, a St. Louis Park based engineering consultant, announced it has hired Melissa Kelley-Jones as vice president of marketing and business development.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Market Financial, Prior Lake, announced that Kyle Haugen has joined the team as financial adviser effective Nov. 21, 2025. He joins Deb Erickson, who has been the sole adviser since 2003. Market Financial is an affiliate of New Market Bank.

HEALTH CARE

Essentia Health, a Duluth-based operator of hospitals and clinics, announced Gerald “Jerry” Staley as chief human resources officer. Staley most recently served as head of human resources for Cook County in Illinois. … The Minnesota Department of Health announced the annual Betty Hubbard Maternal and Child Health Leadership Award honorees for 2025 are Teresa Freitag, Mankato; Mary Zaffke, Spring Grove, and Dr. Adele Della Torre, Minneapolis, recognizing people or organizations in Minnesota making significant contributions to supporting good health for mothers and children.

HONORS

SiebenCarey, Minneapolis, announced that attorney Susan M. Holden has been selected as a 2025 Minnesota Icon Award honoree by Minnesota Lawyer, celebrating leaders whose careers have made a meaningful and long-standing impact on Minnesota’s business and legal communities. … Fredrikson, Minneapolis, announced that Minnesota Lawyer has named attorneys Alethea (Leah) M. Huyser, Nathan D. Converse, Pari I. McGarraugh and Karen G. Schanfield as Attorneys of the Year for 2025.

LAW

Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O’Connell, Maplewood, announced that Ashley Pattain has joined the firm as an associate attorney. Previously, Pattain worked as law clerk to Referee Jenese Larmouth in Ramsey County Family Court, and is a commissioner and vice chairperson of the Sustainability Commission for the City of Minnetonka.

NONPROFITS

George Family Office, a community engagement arm of the George Family Foundation, Minneapolis, announced the promotion of Terry Jackson to office manager, effective Jan. 1. Jackson joined the organization in October 2023 as an executive assistant. She succeeds Diane Weinhold, who retired on Sept. 30, 2025. … Laura Baker Services Association, a Northfield, Minn.-based provider of housing and support services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, announced the appointment of Megan Zwolenski as its director of community relations. Most recently, Zwolenski served as community school coordinator for Northfield Public Schools; she succeeds Andrei Sivanich, who retired at the end of December.

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EMAIL ITEMS to businessnews@pioneerpress.com.

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department has told 1,500 active-duty troops to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, where President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act as a response to protests there against the killing of a Minneapolis woman by a federal immigration officer.

Since threatening to invoke the little-used 1807 law, Trump has already appeared to back away from actually doing so, as Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike have called for restraint.

Even so, the Pentagon last week put troops with two infantry battalions with the Army’s 11th Airborne Division on alert in case they ended up being called up, two Defense officials said.

“The Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the commander in chief if called upon,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, said in an emailed statement, using the Trump administration’s preferred moniker for the department.

The Pentagon last week also quietly alerted 200 Texas National Guard troops to be ready to deploy to Minnesota in the event that Trump followed through with his threat. The Texas Guard soldiers have remained on standby since returning home from Chicago late last year.

But the deployment of troops from the 11th Airborne Division, which is based in Alaska, would be a major escalation for Trump, who has already sent National Guard troops into a number of U.S. cities.

The use of military force on domestic soil in the United States is rare, and it is usually reserved only for the most extreme situations. Active-duty forces are barred from domestic law enforcement unless the president invokes the Insurrection Act, which allows for the use of federal troops on U.S. soil.

The order putting the troops on notice to deploy was reported earlier by ABC News.

On Friday, a day after issuing his Insurrection Act threat, Trump appeared to walk back his comments. “I don’t think I need it right now,” he told reporters while leaving the White House to spend the weekend in Florida.

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Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2024, urged Trump on Thursday to back off the heated rhetoric. “Let’s turn the temperature down,” the governor wrote on social media. “Stop this campaign of retribution.”

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, an escalation in the state-federal battle over the conduct of immigration agents in the city.

Trump was talked out of invoking the Insurrection Act in 2020 following the protests over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. At the time, his defense secretary, attorney general and chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff all advised him against sending active-duty troops into U.S. cities to battle local citizens.

But Trump has a much more compliant Pentagon in his second term, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has worked to amplify Trump’s directives and inclinations, rather than seek to restrain him.

One defense official said Sunday that the Pentagon was aware that Trump had appeared to back away from his threat, but also said that Hegseth wanted to be prepared.