OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Anthony Edwards vowed to be more aggressive.
The Minnesota Timberwolves' All-Star guard was held to 18 points on 13 shots in a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
He took twice as many shots in Game 2, but the result was similar. Despite his 32 points, the Thunder beat the Timberwolves 118-103 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 series lead.
The Thunder rotated several defenders on Edwards — primarily Lu Dort, who was named to the NBA's All-Defensive team on Thursday — and Alex Caruso, who was All-Defensive first team two years ago and second team last season. Edwards made 12 of 26 field goals and 7 of 10 free throws.
“I thought the guys did a great job tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Edwards was much more. ... he was loosened up tonight. I thought a lot of that was the way they were playing. And they (the Thunder guards) really took on the challenge with him. And he really had to earn everything he got. For the most part, nothing came easy for him.”
Edwards, who was fined $50,000 for using profanity during his postgame interview after Game 1, didn’t bother talking to the media at all after Game 2.
It might have been out of frustration. He missed some time with an ankle injury in Game 1, and it appeared to carry over to Game 2. He wasn’t his usual explosive self, settling for layups in a few situations when he would normally have dunked. He still got to the basket often, but he never really seemed comfortable.
His teammates couldn’t get going. The Timberwolves shot 41.4% from the field and made just 11 of 39 3-pointers.
“These are open shots,” Minnesota’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker said. “They’re open shots. We’ve got to make open shots. And I think that we will.”
Julius Randle, who scored 28 points in the opener, finished with six on 2-for-11 shooting in Game 2. Alexander-Walker expects that to improve for Game 3.
“I’m not bothered,” Alexander-Walker said. “I’m not going to bat an eye at it. I know Julius, I know he’s going to come in and work. I know that as a competitor, his blood’s boiling and he’s going to come back next game ready to go.”
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Cliff Brunt, The Associated Press
