“They got KD but we got Jaden McDaniels.” This statement by Anthony Edwards during the previous series against Phoenix showed how confident he was in his teammate’s abilities. And last night, facing elimination, McDaniels proved Ant-Man’s words right once again as he scored twenty-one points to lead the Wolves to a 115-70 blowout win against Denver. However, looking back on his pivotal performance after the game, McDaniels revealed that it was Ant-Man’s text that might have instilled the confidence in him to leave everything on the floor.

When asked what it is like to play alongside a rising superstar like Anthony Edwards, McDaniels had nothing but good things to say about his teammate, “It’s super fun to play with him.” Then, talking about how Edwards frequently motivates him, Jaden revealed that he even gets texts from Ant-Man before games saying, “Bruh, you gotta be super aggressive. If we’re not aggressive, we don’t win.” Despite being just twenty-two years old, Edwards is showing true leadership qualities by helping his teammates believe in themselves and perform at their maximum potential.

And that is exactly what McDaniels did in Game 6 when his team needed him. Shooting eight of ten from the field and making three crucial three-pointers during the game, Jaden kept Minnesota’s offense flowing for the entire game. Not only that, Jaden was also big on the defensive end, hounding the Nuggets players all night and collecting two blocks and one steal. Although this is only the second time Jaden is playing in the postseason, this hasn’t reflected in his performance or his demeanor. Averaging over eleven points in the playoffs so far, he has proven to be a key player in Minnesota’s success.

What’s the mood in the Wolves locker room after Game 6?

While happy with his performance and more importantly, getting the much-needed win last night, McDaniels did not seem to be in a celebratory mood because he knew what lies ahead. “It’s not over yet. Still got one more game to play,” he asserted. Giving the defending Champions the respect that they deserve, McDaniels knows that they will have to go through a battle with the Nuggets in Sunday’s Game 7. And just like McDaniels, the other Wolves players in the locker room were also not ready to lose focus yet, “We’re ready to play the next game. Everyone’s just locked in, still ready to go hoop. There’s nothing really to celebrate about yet.”

Now that the Wolves have done what they were supposed to do by protecting their home court, it’s time for them to figure out how they can beat the Nuggets one more time in their territory. Yes, they have already achieved that feat two times before in this series. However, this Nuggets team is different as they were on a three-game winning streak before the Wolves stopped them in their tracks in Game 6. Moreover, the biggest challenge for the Wolves will be to stop Nikola Jokic, who single-handedly beat their team with a forty-point performance the last time they visited Ball Arena. Realizing there is not much they can do to stop him, McDaniels said that they will try to get the ball out of The Joker’s hands and make the other guys beat them.

With one more win standing in the way of them and the Conference Finals, Anthony Edwards and Co. have a chance to finally reach that stage after twenty long years. Do you think they can do it?