Anthony Edwards offered a blunt self-assessment following the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Game 1 defeat against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
The All-Star guard, who finished with 23 points on 8-of-22 shooting, dismissed the notion that he had trouble finding his spots early in the game.
“Nothing,” Edwards said. “I got everywhere I wanted to get. Just couldn’t finish.”
Minnesota trailed by as many as 23 points in the second half and failed to capitalize on Stephen Curry’s absence after the Warriors guard exited with a hamstring injury.
Despite being expected to set the tone for his team, Edwards said his issues were limited to one side of the floor.
“Nah, I feel like I played great defense,” he said. “I just couldn’t do nothing on offense.”
The Timberwolves shot 5-of-29 from beyond the arc, a stark contrast to Golden State’s 18 made threes on 42 attempts.
Edwards, who attacked the paint aggressively but struggled to convert, acknowledged the missed opportunities around the rim.
“A couple of them, I got to finish,” he said. “A lot of those layups that I missed, I got to finish.”
Naz Reid echoed Edwards’ sentiment, emphasizing that execution—rather than effort—was to blame.
“Just kind of remember who we are as a team,” Reid said. “It’s not like it’s foreign to any team. Just kind of got to stay even-keel.”
Julius Randle, who added 16 points but grabbed only three rebounds, was critical of the Timberwolves’ performance on the glass.
“They had 51 rebounds, we had 40, 41,” Randle said. “That’s to our advantage. So, you know, it’s just a want thing.”
Golden State leaned on its role players in Curry’s absence, with Buddy Hield hitting five threes and Draymond Green providing an early spark from deep.
Minnesota’s lack of offensive rhythm was compounded by a stagnant perimeter attack.
Edwards addressed the team’s hesitation from long range, saying, “Probably got a little gun-shy… I just be telling my teammates, ‘Hey, shoot it.’”
Still, Edwards urged confidence ahead of Game 2.
“You have stretches where you shoot the ball really, really well. Then you have stretches where you shoot the ball really, really bad,” he said. “Tonight is over. So next game we’ll shoot the ball really well.”
The Timberwolves will look to even the series when they host the Warriors again on Thursday night.
