Dallas’ pair of All-Stars lit up the Timberwolves for 47 minutes. In crunch time, Minnesota turned to its own dynamic duo.
Twenty-one-year-old Anthony Edwards and 22-year-old Jaden McDaniels shut down Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic on the game’s final possession and the Wolves got a huge 124-121 win in Dallas.
Edwards denied Irving on the inbounds, then McDaniels knocked away a pass to Doncic, chasing him into the backcourt. When Doncic passed to Irving, Edwards deterred his first look at three. Irving got the ball back behind the arc, but Edwards leaped to block it, and McDaniels forced him into a bad pass stolen by Taurean Prince.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch suggested the team foul up three points, but Edwards and McDaniels, both first-round picks from the 2020 Draft, wanted no part of it.
The loss dropped Dallas into fifth place in the Western Conference, just half a game ahead of Minnesota in eighth. Since the win gave Minnesota the season series, 2-1, they also own the tiebreaker over the Mavs.
Irving and Doncic combined for 69 points on 25-43 shooting, but Edwards and McDaniels combined for 51 and shot an even more efficient 19-30. And on the game’s biggest possession, they didn’t get a shot off at all.
Dallas may keep its two stars together long-term, though Irving doesn’t want to talk about a new contract until after the season. But the duo of Edwards and McDaniels could be together in Minnesota for a very long time.
