Anthony Edwards holds Julius Randle accountable for shooting only 13 times in crucial Game 3 victory over Lakers
On and off the court, Anthony Edwards is a vibrant personality — hilarious, over-the-top, and extremely competitive. In an interview after the Minnesota Timberwolves' Game 3 victory against the LA Lakers on Friday, he humorously called out his teammate.
During the media availability, Edwards admonished Julius Randle for supposedly shying away from taking shots:
"Julius gotta shoot more," Edwards said as he reached for the stat sheet. "He took 13 shots."
With a loaded smile, Ant-Man turned to Randle, who was seated right beside him. "You alright?" he asked in jest.
Smiling as the reporters in the room chuckled at Edwards' quip, Randle admitted that he was "tired as hell." In all likelihood, Randle's fatigue was partly caused by his efforts to contain the Lakers' frontcourt, which includes versatile scorers LeBron James and Rui Hachimura.
It's worth noting that Randle averaged 13.6 field goal attempts during the regular season, which means that Game 3 was a typical performance from him in that category. Edwards, however, made it clear that he was expecting Randle to push himself further as they get deeper into the playoffs.
"We need him to take, like, 10 more shots," the Wolves guard insisted.
Randle did point out to Edwards that he took 10 free throws in the game — a key stat that allowed him to finish with 22 points despite making just six field goals. As the Wolves look to push their series lead to 3-1 in Game 4, expect Edwards to keep prodding Randle, whether in jest or otherwise.
Anthony Edwards dunks on Luka Doncic to send Wolves fans into a frenzy
To Edwards' credit, no one could accuse him of shying away from the challenge of seizing home-court advantage back from the Lakers. Late in the third quarter of Game 3, Edwards ended up putting on the highlight of the night as he turned defense into resounding offense.
Moments after Luka Doncic grabbed a rebound underneath the Wolves' basket, Edwards blindsided him with a steal, then proceeded to soar high and slam the ball with two hands over the Slovenian.
Edwards finished with 29 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists as the Wolves went up 2-1.