Anthony Edwards stars in Timberwolves’ Game 1 win over Suns

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - It’s Anthony Edwards’ world, and we’re all just living in it.

The Minnesota Timberwolves superstar guard put on a show Saturday in a 120-95 win over the Phoenix Suns to open the Western Conference Playoffs, and let Kevin Durant hear about it. Edwards had 33 points and took over the game with 18 of them in the third quarter.

"Get him the ball. Fun to watch and sometimes in the past he’s had those runs lead to a bad run. You can see the growth that he played under control and continued to make the right play," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said after the win. "When he does those things, he can control a game."

He hit a 3-pointer in the final minute of the third to put the Timberwolves up 86-70, and let Durant hear about it the entire way back down the floor. Durant’s reaction was priceless, smiling, laughing and largely ignoring it.

"I think everybody here knows that’s my favorite player of all time. That was probably one of the best feelings ever in my whole life, for sure," Edwards said.

Edwards shot 14-of-24 from the floor, 4-of-8 from three-point range. That’s after starting the game with four turnovers and two fouls in the first quarter. As he was interviewed post game on Bally Sports North, fans were chanting, "MVP!"

"Believe that!" Edwards said. "It was special man, but it’s only one game. It’s just one game, we’ve got three more games to win."

Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid combined for 30 points off the bench. Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 16 rebounds, with Vikings star Justin Jefferson and former star Adrian Peterson watching courtside.

Durant led the Suns with 31 points, but didn’t get much help from the Suns other stars.

Edwards was the star, but Naz Reid might have had the play of the game. He took a steal in the fourth quarter the length of the floor, and the 6-10 center beat Bradley Beal on a reverse lay-up that lit up the Target Center crowd, and had the entire Timberwolves’ bench in awe. Reid finished with 12 points.

Timberwolves’ fans were wondering what Game 1 would look like after a 125-106 loss to the Suns to end the regular season and cement this playoff match-up. Minnesota was more than ready, and showed that an 0-3 mark against Phoenix in the regular season means nothing when it comes to playoff time.

"We needed to take our game to another level. We played hard, we played desperate basketball with a chip on our shoulder, which is what we did early in the season when we were trying to establish ourselves," Finch said. "The guys did a good job of coming out hungry with something to prove."

Game 2 is set for Tuesday night at Target Center.