Timberwolves 113, Rockets 112: Anthony Edwards Sinks Step-Back 3-Pointer Dagger

After going down by 16 with less than five minutes left, the Timberwolves staged a furious comeback, capped off by an Anthony Edwards game-winner

After winning on Christmas Day in Dallas, the Minnesota Timberwolves traveled to another Texas city to face off against a Houston Rockets team that is at the top of the Western Conference. This game came in the midst of a tough stretch for the Wolves who played the Dallas Mavericks on the 25th and have the Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics coming up in the next week.

This should be a great stretch of basketball that can be used as a measuring stick for how they stack up against the best at this point in the season. After the narrow Dallas win, Minnesota has a chance to battle again with a team they trail in the standings and make up some ground heading into the new year.

The game started very slow for both teams as the entire first was defensive-minded for the whole way. Anthony Edwards had another hot start with 13 points including going 3/3 from three. While the score did not reflect it, the Wolves offense looked good as the ball and player movement were high. The Wolves were plagued by their six turnovers and they Rocket’s six offensive rebounds. Despite that, Ant’s great offensive quarter propelled them to a 22-21 lead.

The 2nd quarter is where the good process turned into results for the Timberwolves offense. They scored 35 points in the quarter with the help of Donte DiVincenzo. After a couple of free throws in the first, DDV erupted for four threes and scored 14 points in the frame. Josh Minott also had a successful six-minute stint, getting a steal and draining a corner three while being a +6.

After leading by as much as 10 in the quarter, Alperen Şengün kept the Rockets close with 12 points in the period. At the half, Wolves led by five, 57-52. At the half, Ant led the way with 17 and Donte came in with 16 off the bench. Şengün scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds.

The Rockets started strong in the third quarter as they began on a 17-8 run. Ant was night and day from the first half as he only scored one point. While the Wolves were able to cobble some buckets together in the final few minutes of the third, the defensive rebounding and Alperen Şengün put their foot down. That with missed shots and the Wolves trailed 84-76 at the end of the quarter.

The Rockets continued their shotmaking into the 4th quarter and after keeping it close to start the period the Wolves started to stumble. Houston kept the peddle to the metal with each made shot making the outlook more and more bleak. After Julius Randle stepped out of bounds and Şengün made a bucket at the other end to make it 106-90 with 4:57 left in the game, it looked all but over, according to the ESPN app the Rockets had a 99.6% chance to win at this point.

That is when lightning struck.

Naz Reid came into the game as the final five minutes were marked by grit, energy, and effort. The Timberwolves went on a 22-6 run over this time as the rolled the boulder all the way back up the mountain. After Şengün went split a pair of free throws from the line to make it 112-110 with 41.2 seconds left the Timberwolves needed one more push to roll that boulder over the top and send it tumbling downhill the other direction.

Anthony Edwards delivered that push. As the initial action failed Ant got the ball with the shot clock winding down going to his left. He glides into a step-back and rises to let the triple fly. Cash!

Rockets scramble for a shot on the other end but it bricks and the Wolves go home victorious. Amazing win and one that helps bond a team together… maybe even one that can turn a season around.

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Key Takeaways

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Donte DiVincenzo’s Eruption

Donte DiVincenzo has had a rough start shooting the ball on the season. Whether you attributed that to getting settled in, an elongated poor stretch, or any other reason, it was tough to watch such an impactful player and amazing shooter struggle so much to begin the season. But, as is almost always the case with shooting, sometimes you just have to give it time. DDV has been awesome the last five games and none better than tonight.

He scored 22 points on 7/12 shooting including being 6/10 from three to go along with four rebounds, four assists, and three stocks. Stuffing the stat sheet while also being a lethal shooter from the outside and being a big part of the group that helped the Wolves complete this improbable comeback. Shooters are going to shoot, and I hope Donte keeps shooting.

Lineup Combinations

While the third quarter was rough in this regard, I do want to give Chris Finch props for the lineups he was finding in this one. He switched around his initial subs to make sure that the Reid-Gobert frontcourt duo got significant time together, he played Josh Minott for a boost in the 2nd quarter (which I would’ve liked to see in the third as well), he made sure Randle played with great floor spacers to amplify his game and he got the lineup of NAW-Donte-Ant-Randle-Reid correct to close the game and spark the comeback. Without all of these moves, the Timberwolves lose that game.

Anthony Edwards’ Dagger

Clutch time offense has been a roller coaster for the Wolves this season and has more often than not ended in misery. This is part of the Anthony Edwards experience. He is 23 years old and is finding his balance of moving the ball, reading the defense, and finding his sliver of space for the kill shot. While he isn’t always going to get it right, he is special for having the ability to hit the kill shot. Tonight was the perfect example of how his extreme confidence can directly translate to wins.

He craves the moment, he wants to take those shots and has the ability to make the tough ones with the game on the line. It is what makes him great. While there are still going to be some growing pains with his late-game decision-making, he already has the toughest skill to obtain in his arsenal: the ability to rise to the moment.

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Up Next

The Timberwolves will travel back home for a Sunday evening clash against the alien Victor Wembanyama and a feisty San Antonio Spurs team. The game will air at 7 PM CST on FanDuel Sports Network North with the very best in Michael Grady and Jim Peterson calling the game.

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Game Highlights