Anthony Edwards steals a win for the Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves (11-12) needed a win against the Indiana Pacers (13-11), the final home game before ensuing on a five-game road trip that takes the Timberwolves all the way to the Pacific Northwest before making their way home.

By rights, the Timberwolves need this one for the fans as much as for the record. Perhaps that is why the team has already gotten center Luka Garza involved in this one. How did he do? Well, four points in just four minutes are promising, but a +/-  of (-11) tells part of the story too.

The Timberwolves have been dominating at points in the paint so far in this one, by a ratio that is nearly two to one. But the Pacers have countered with fast break points and scoring far more readily from the perimeter.

It was a bit eye-popping for the Timberwolves to trail in fast break points, particularly so when you look at the game that Anthony Edwards is having.  Edwards created his seventh steal of the game before the end of the third period.  That is a high water mark for steals for the young man in his career, and the Timberwolves needed each and every one of them.

By game’s end, the Timberwolves ended with 28 points and four assists from PG D’Angelo Russell, 26 points, eight assists, and seven steals from SG Anthony Edwards, and a double-double from center Rudy Gobert, who pulled in 20 rebounds, 16 points, three steals and two blocks on the night.

You can bet that Anthony Edwards has upped his defensive play in the absence of teammate Karl-Anthony Towns:

The Timberwolves were unable to keep the Pacers from scoring almost at will from the perimeter. But a fourth-quarter salvo from PG D’Angelo Russell, who scored 15 of his 28 points and three of his four three-point shots, was the offensive boost the Timberwolves desperately needed.