MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Edwards scored a career-high 51 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame an early 21-point deficit with a dominant second half to beat the Wizards of Washington 130-121 Tuesday evening.
Edwards had 30 points in the second half, the most in a half of his career. Nickeil Alexander-Walker finished with 23 points and Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Wolves, who won four of five and eight of 10.
Edwards credited coach Chris Finch for keeping him focused before the game against one of the worst teams in the league.
“He put me in the office 2-3 days ago and said, ‘Look man, we have this game against Washington, and we have to win it, we have to be ready to play and you can’t treat it like any other match.’ ” said Edwards, who also added 6 rebounds and 7 assists to become the first player in Timberwolves history with 50 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a game.
Minnesota was ranked among the top three seeds in the Western Conference and will face Denver Wednesday with a potential No. 1 seed on the line.
“I don’t even need to talk about how big the project is. Everyone knows that,” Edwards said.
The Timberwolves and Nuggets are tied for the top spot in the West, one game ahead Oklahoma City. Denver beat Utah and the thunderclap Sacramento Tuesday evening to keep up with the pace.
Minnesota improved to 12-5 without All-Star forward Cities of Karl-Anthony. The team announced Tuesday that Towns has been cleared to participate in full-contact five-on-five basketball activities. in anticipation of his returnwhich could happen as early as Friday.
A 3-point basket by Edwards gave Minnesota its first lead at 92-89 with 2:04 left in the third quarter. Before the period expired, Edwards added 3 more, scored on a quick dunk and fed Gobert for a dunk to increase the lead to 99-92.
“We definitely needed all of them,” Finch said. “The best thing for me was they got in the flow. He kept playing the right game for most of it. He was really finding people. Guys were knocking down shots too. He was aggressive in reaching the hoop.” I thought he turned the tables, with Nickeil, getting to the basket. “
Edwards scored on a turnaround jumper, Gobert had another dunk and Alexander-Walker scored on a reverse layup for a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Edwards’ layup with 2:36 remaining and his drive with 1:34 remaining set a personal record, surpassing the 49 points he scored against. San Antonio on April 7, 2022. His total was tied for fifth for most points in a game by a Minnesota player. The cities had 62 on January 22 against Charlotte.
“We could have done a little better to get the ball out of his hands, but he was the reason he put them on his back. (Mike) Conley had a big second half, too. There’s a reason for which they are one of the best teams in the West,” said Washington interim coach Brian Keefe.
Corey Kispert led the shorthanded Wizards with 25 points and Jordan Poole added 24. Washington lost seven of eight.
The Wizards shot 63% in the first quarter as they led by 21. They led 44-27 at the end of the period, tying a franchise high for points in a quarter. It was the highest-scoring period by a Minnesota opponent this season.
Minnesota got a dozen points from Edwards but missed 12 of its first 15 shots. The Timberwolves also lost their starting center Naz Reidwho was sent off for “unnecessary and excessive” contact after an elbow to the head of Johnny Davis while struggling for a rebound.
Among the players missing for Washington were forward Marvin Bagley III (sprained right knee), forward Kyle Kuzma (sprained right ankle) and front/center Tristan Vukcević (left knee pain).
ESPN Stats & Information and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
