Anthony Edwards purposefully took a back seat in the scoring department and let his teammates do the damage as the Timberwolves took down the Pelicans 125-116 for the second time in three nights in New Orleans.
Edwards was averaging 38.3 points over his last six games, but on Thursday night, the Timberwolves superstar attempted only six shots and finished with 11 points. He added six rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and a ghastly eight turnovers in 31 minutes.
But it didn’t matter. As they did on Tuesday before winning in overtime, Minnesota played with its food (the 3-20 Pelicans) before devouring them when it really mattered.
Trailing 91-88 early in the fourth quarter, the Wolves exploded on a 15-0 run to take a 103-91 lead with 7:29 left in the game. They outscored New Orleans 37-26 in the final 12 minutes, en route to a fourth consecutive victory.
While Ant-Man took a back seat on offense, everyone else stepped up.
Julius Randle: 28 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assistsJaden McDaniels: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assistsNaz Reid: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocksRudy Gobert: 15 points, 12 rebounds (6 offensive)Donte DiVincenzo: 15 points (4 of 8 from three)Jaylen Clark: 12 points in 14 minutes
Minnesota (14-8) is just a game and a half behind Houston (14-5), San Antonio (15-6), and Denver (15-6), who currently control the third, fourth, and fifth seeds in the Western Conference.
Up next: Wolves vs. Clippers, 7 p.m. CT on Saturday.
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