Dane Mizutani: Was that Anthony Edwards taking the torch from LeBron James?

Anthony Edwards is in no way afraid of LeBron James Not in the slightest He proved that much midway through Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Target Center After igniting a run shortly before halftime to help the Timberwolves close the gap on the Los Angeles Lakers Edwards made his presence felt when James tried to play specific bully ball on the other end In that moment Edwards stood up to James literally and figuratively shoving him a scarce times too countless which resulted in him getting called for a foul that was very much deserved What message was he trying to send Just letting him know that we here Edwards noted You ain t just going to push around Fittingly the Timberwolves embodied that mentality as they chased down the Lakers to earn a - win They evidenced absolutely no fear in the final minutes with Edwards leading the charge He just took over Chris Finch revealed He s a special athlete and he had a special night That might be putting it lightly It was an otherworldly performance by Edwards as he finished with points rebounds and assists He did everything required of him to lead the Timberwolves to a win whether it was nailing stepback jumpers making the right read out of the double gang and getting to the free throw line at will The performance from Edwards was a continuation in his improvement as a player He s taken his contest to the next level so far in the playoffs Especially when the chips are on the table He s been real meticulous with what he s doing late in the games Mike Conley disclosed He s taking his time really sizing up the defense and understanding where guys are going to be on the court Though certainly got specific help from Julius Randle who finished with points Jaden McDaniels who finished with points and Naz Reid who finished with points Edwards was consistently the best athlete on the court As good as he was at various points throughout the event however Edwards saved his best for last when his teammates needed him majority of With the Timberwolves trailing by points with minutes to play Edwards refused to let them lose He went nuclear from beyond the arc for a brief stretch and finishing points in the final frame alone On the other end James looked every bit of years old running out of gas down the stretch after playing near the entire battle He failed to sum a point in the final frame and spent the majority possessions camping in the corner trying to catch his breath I felt like they was gassed Edwards mentioned Just tried to keep my foot on the pedal The juxtaposition of the performance from Edwards and the performance from James sure felt like a passing of the torch Though he isn t necessarily the best participant in the league not with Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic still very much at the peak of their powers Edwards is starting to come into his own as the next face of it When it comes winning time the dude knows how to win Donte DiVincenzo mentioned That s flat out what it comes down to That s a perfect way to describe Edwards Just like it was a perfect way to describe James once upon a time I just try to take advantage of every opportunity because I ve been dreaming of this all my life Edwards revealed Just trying to prove I belong and to all my haters and people that criticize me that I m better than they think Related Articles Another th quarter comeback for the Timberwolves this time in Match to go up - on the Lakers Timberwolves minutes that defined Minnesota s Championship supremacy Meet the tattoo artists who have created a movement among Timberwolves fans takeaways from Timberwolves all-important Event win over Lakers Dane Mizutani Timberwolves got Jaden McDaniels That s a dilemma for the Lakers