What Anthony Edwards told his teammates after failing to ‘ruffle feathers’ vs. Nuggets

Anthony Edwards isn’t letting the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Game 1 loss to the Denver Nuggets shake his team’s resolve. As the final seconds ticked off the clock during his team’s 116-105 loss on Sunday at Ball Arena, Edwards delivered a message to his teammates.

“I was just telling the guys when there was 10 seconds left that we’re good. It’s Game 1. They did their job. They won the first game on their floor,” he told them. “We would’ve loved to win the first game and, you know, ruffle some feathers, but they came out and competed at a high level and did their job. So, we should be ready next game to come out here and do what we got to do to get a win.”

Edwards and his teammates have extensive playoff experience against the Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets.

The Timberwolves suffered a 4-1 loss to the Nuggets during the first round of the 2022-23 playoffs. They came back from a 3-2 deficit to beat Denver in seven games during the second round of the 2023-24 playoffs.

Minnesota fell in five games against the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals that year, then lost in five games to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the West finals last season.

Anthony Edwards not lacking confidence following Game 1 loss vs. Nuggets

While Edwards is confident in his team’s ability to bounce back from Sunday’s defeat, he has never won a series after losing Game 1.

“I never knew that, but I don’t really care. It’s a long series. It’s first to win four games, not one. So it’s cool,” he said when asked about the stat.

Edwards recently missed over a month due to a right knee injury. He posted 22 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three blocks on 7-of-19 shooting in 38 minutes on Sunday. However, he looked visibly fatigued as the game progressed, something Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch acknowledged postgame.

Minnesota will need its supporting cast to play better than it did Sunday to have a chance vs. Denver. None of Edwards’ teammates cracked 20 points during the Game 1 loss.

Meanwhile, Jamal Murray scored a game-high 30 points on 7-of-22 shooting from the field and 16-of-16 from the free-throw line. Jokic posted a triple-double with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists on 11-of-19 shooting.

Game 2 between the Timberwolves and Nuggets is scheduled for Monday at 10:30 PM EST.

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