Minnesota Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards had more in mind on Sunday than tying up the series against the San Antonio Spurs.
“Today is Mother’s Day,” Edwards told reporters after a 114–109 comeback victory at the Target Center. “And so I just wanted to win for my mom, and it was just that simple.”
Edwards did his part with 36 points on 13-22 shooting, and he added six rebounds, two assists, and a steal. He led a rally in the fourth quarter from eight points down on a day he couldn’t stop thinking of his late mother, Yvette, who died of cancer in 2015.
“Yeah,” Edwards acknowledged. “I couldn’t lose this game for her for sure.”
The Wolves also couldn’t afford to lose on Sunday amid a risk of a 3–1 series deficit before returning to San Antonio for Game 5 on Tuesday. Instead, the Wolves made the most of Victor Wembanyama’s first career postseason ejection.
The Spurs star center was tossed for elbowing Wolves post Naz Reid in the neck. As of Monday morning, the league has not issued a suspension.
Minnesota didn’t have an easier time with the Spurs despite Wembanyama’s exit, as the Spurs looked poised to take the win in Minneapolis during the fourth quarter. Edwards explained the difference with the NBA Defensive Player of the Year off the court.
“Honestly, I think it was kind of harder,” Edwards said. “Of course, they’re a really good team with him on the floor, but they play a lot slower when he’s on the floor because everything revolves around him.”
“When every team is missing their best player, everybody gets more free, gets more shots, more confident,” Edwards added. “So, I think it was a lot harder on us.”
The hit to the neck didn’t stop Reid from performing; he tallied 15 points and nine rebounds.
“Pain is weakness leaving the body,” Reid told reporters afterward. “That’s it.”
Wolves center Rudy Gobert stepped up with a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds. He helped the Wolves avoid losing back-to-back games in Minneapolis after grabbing the first game of the series in San Antonio.
“We have a resilient group of guys. No matter the circumstances, we are going to keep fighting and give everything we have and keep trusting one another,” Gobert told reporters afterward.
“Just making the right play. That’s who we are,” Gobert added. “We might not be always consistent with that, but I feel like when it matters, we raise our level.”
While the Spurs head back to San Antonio with the series knotted, Spurs guard Dylan Harper believes the adversity benefited the team. Harper scored 24 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
“It was a whole lot of grabbing and pushing and shoving, but that’s a part of the game,” Harper told reporters afterward. “The next man has got to step up. I think we all did a great job of controlling what we can control.”
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson addressed the incident afterward. He noted that the physicality around Wembanyama has been a problem for years in his young career.
“I’m glad Naz Reid is OK, and I didn’t want him to elbow him, but he’s going to have to protect himself,” Johnson told reporters afterward.
“The level of physicality that opponents have been trying to impose on him since his first days in the league, combined with the lack of protection from the referees, is really disappointing,” Johnson continued. “And to a certain extent, it’s starting to become downright nauseating.”
Johnson also said that Wembanyama had “zero intent” to hurt Reid and that a suspension shouldn’t occur.
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