The Minnesota Timberwolves lost their second straight game on Wednesday night to the Milwaukee Bucks, dropping them to a 30-25 record overall. That might not seem so bad at face value, especially after they won eight of 10 before that. But the schedule does not ease up for the Wolves. Three of their next four contests (thanks, scheduling department) are against the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.
We know that there is little room for error in this gauntlet of the West, and every game matters. That is the main reason why dropping another close game on Wednesday hurt so bad, especially when it was such a winnable contest. The Bucks were competing without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. It was a prime opportunity for the Timberwolves to continue gaining some ground in the standings. Instead, they fall back below the LA Clippers into the seventh spot.
This is one that Chris Finch and company may be shaking their heads about for the rest of the season. Minnesota had a chance to win in the end, but their abysmal record in clutch games exists because they consistently struggle to execute in these types of situations, and that trend continued on Wednesday.
Here's the Wolves' final possession of the game -- down 2 with 11 seconds to go (and two timeouts).
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) February 13, 2025
And then, here's Anthony Edwards explaining his thought process on why he opted not to attack and instead take the 3. pic.twitter.com/Ih3PhFdFHa
Edwards missed a potential game-winning three against the Bucks
With the Timberwolves down 103-101 and with 10.9 seconds on the game clock in the fourth quarter, Anthony Edwards brought the ball down the court. Drawing single coverage from Kevin Porter Jr., Edwards used a few quick dribble moves to create some space. Then, instead of driving to the cup, he pulled back for what would have been a game-winning three. The shot missed, and not enough time was left to foul Milwaukee. Game over.
There are a couple trains of thought when it comes to Edwards' decision-making here. Of course, if he had made the three-pointer, no one would be saying anything. And at the end of the day, Ant is having the best three-point shooting season of his career. The talking heads that get on TV and say he should be shooting these shots less overall simply do not know what they are talking about.
But in this scenario, is it fair to say he could have gone for the tie instead? We can all sit around and go crazy when he knocks in a game-winning three (which he has done this season), but the Timberwolves continue to struggle in these clutch situations.
It feels like this is the next step Edwards needs to take for Minnesota to climb back into that tier of a top-level championship contender. He has all the talent in the world, but little things like decision-making in close contests will need to improve.