Anthony Edwards isn’t one to hold his tongue, even if it means talking back to his coach.
The Timberwolves’ superstar guard was seen mouthing off to Minnesota coach Chris Finch after he nailed a 3-pointer with 42.9 seconds remaining to grab a four-point lead in the eventual 94-88 win.
“That’s what I do,” Edwards yelled at Finch after he drilled the contested shot from the left corner.
The extra emotion from Edwards was spearheaded by something that Finch apparently said during a timeout before the play.
“The play before, when I took the midrange over two (players), (Finch) said to pass the ball, and I told him, ‘You don’t want me to pass the ball, you want me to shoot it,’” Edwards said postgame.
With the win, Minnesota took ownership of the No. 5 seed and now sits just behind a half-game behind the Nuggets for fourth.
Edwards ended the game with 31 points, five assists, and three rebounds while shooting 12 of 24.
“Me and my coach got the best relationship ever. I mean, he be right most of the time — 98% of the time, he be right,” Edwards admitted. “He told me to pass the ball tonight, and I should have passed it, but I shot it instead. And it went in. The basketball gods was on my side tonight.”
The good vibes between the two have been tested this season.
Finch publicly called Edwards out for walking off the court and tossing his towel after unloading the bench in a 126-102 loss to a clearly inferior Hawks team on Dec. 31.
“Obviously frustrated with the performance and rightfully so, but he needs to stay out on the floor and root for his team,” Finch said.
That next week, Finch addressed his team, calling his players “stubborn by nature” during a particular rough patch when they lost to the Nuggets, Nets and Hawks in a four-game stretch, with the lone win coming against the Bulls.
“Sometimes, you know, these guys are stubborn by nature. It’s what makes them great. I think sometimes you gotta do things to catch their attention, or when you play poorly like you do in Atlanta, you catch everyone’s attention. But I thought the game plan execution in Chicago was at a high level. I thought it was high level in Miami, and I thought it was high level in Washington,” Finch said.
Minnesota has just 18 regular season games remaining before the playoffs begin April 12.
