"I had Jamal in handcuffs" - Anthony Edwards sheds light on shutting down former champion in must-win game
Anthony Edwards was feeling it after the Minnesota Timberwolves' huge win in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets. Edwards struggled with his shot all game, but his defense on Jamal Murray in the second half proved pivotal as the Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference finals.
Edwards finished the game with 16 points on 6-for-24 shooting, which was his worst offensive performance of the series. However, he put the clamps on Murray in the second half, limiting him to just 11 points after a 24-point first half.
"Ant-Man" made sure to point it out after the game in the hallways of Ball Arena with cameras all around. Here's what the Timberwolves superstar said:
"I had Jamal in handcuffs!"
Anthony Edwards had to take responsibility for guarding Jamal Murray in the second half, as the Denver Nuggets star was scoring against Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker with ease in the first. Murray had five points early in the third quarter before Edwards took over.
"The Blue Arrow" didn't score for the rest of the period and was limited to just six points in the fourth quarter. Edwards did a fantastic job limiting Murray's contribution in the second half. It allowed the Minnesota Timberwolves to make a run and take control of the game midway through the fourth quarter.
Edwards should also give a shoutout to the trio of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid for their wonderful defense against Nikola Jokic in the second half too. Jokic had a crazy game with 34 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists but struggled in the fourth quarter.
What's next for Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves?
The Minnesota Timberwolves are back in the Western Conference finals for the first time in 20 years. The last time the Timberwolves were in this position was in 2004 when Kevin Garnett was the league MVP. They came up short against the LA Lakers in six games.
Anthony Edwards has an opportunity to bring the Timberwolves to their first NBA Finals appearance if they get past Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. It's not an easy series for Minnesota even though they were 3-1 in the regular season.
The main reason for that is because the Mavs made some moves at the trade deadline and they never met past January 31. Dallas was one of the best teams in the league after the deadline following their acquisition of Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington.
The Mavericks are a completely different team after the deadline, and it showed when they finished the regular season as the fifth seed. They then eliminated the No. 4 LA Clippers in the first round, as well as the No. 1 OKC Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.