Despite Victor Wembanyama’s playoff record of 12 blocks, it’s the Minnesota Timberwolves that got the Game 1 win, 104-102 in Anthony Edwards’ return. The 4x NBA All-Star scored 18 points from the bench in his unexpected return from injury. The 24-year-old was the second-highest scorer for his team but remained critical of his performance.

“I made so many mistakes at the end of the game. I’m disappointed in myself,” said Edwards after the game. “For me, 75% of the game for me is my mind. My mind’s got to be where it needs to be, and in the last 2 minutes of the game, it wasn’t. I may not be as athletic as I usually am, but I’ve got to be able to box out, make the small plays to win the big time games.”

The Wolves star took accountability for three mistakes during the final stretch. “I gave up 2 offensive rebounds, turned the ball over. Yeah. I’ll be better. I can’t give up two offensive rebounds to Champagnie.” He failed to box out Justin Champagnie, leading to two offensive rebounds and putback layups. More importantly, with just 33 seconds left on the clock, his turnover led to a transition dunk by Dylan Harper, leaving the Spurs trailing by only two. Ant taking accountability for his mistakes is not new.

Even before the season began, Anthony Edwards was locked in and ready for his third straight Conference Finals appearance. He added endless sessions of one-dribble pull-ups and defensive drills. His mindset was clear: “We’re trying to get back to the number one defense in the league, and I know it starts with me. I told my teammates to hold me accountable, coaches included.”

Anthony Edwards also had 11 points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter on 5-of-6 shooting, but he didn’t score the rest of the way again.

As the 24-year-old remains critical, let’s not forget that he was expected to miss at least the first two games of the series after suffering a bone bruise and hyperextending his left knee on April 25 during Game 4 of Minnesota’s opening-round series against Denver. Instead, he made a remarkable recovery in just 9 days. His recovery draws immediate parallels to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s legendary 2021 comeback.

The Bucks superstar missed 2 games after an injury against the Hawks in Conference Finals Game 4. Just 6 days later, he started Game 1 of the Finals and played 35 minutes. In fact, the Greek Freak played through pain, capping the series with a 50-point, 14-rebound, 5-block performance in the title-clinching Game 6 and won the Finals MVP. Back to Edwards, he took 9 days, but still wasn’t 100%.

He appeared to grimace and grab at his left knee while getting back on defense. But tonight’s 25-minute action should be a warning sign for the Spurs. He was in vintage Ant mode as when he drilled a step-back 3-pointer early in the game, Edwards looked toward the Spurs bench and screamed: “I’m back! I’m back!”

Chris Finch played a key role in Anthony Edwards’ resurgence

Since the Wolves were the only third team to beat the Spurs in the regular season, the matchup was always going to be intriguing. The 19 lead changes in this game were a clear example of that. It was an even matchup in terms of FG (45% for Spurs vs 46% for Wolves). Even the rebounding (47-46) and TO (14-13) battle was close. That’s where Chris Finch came clutch.

Anthony Edwards started from the bench for only the third time in his career. With a minute restriction to avoid further damage, Ant played 5, 5, and 4 minutes in the first three quarters. The Wolves star played 10 minutes in the final frame and erupted with 11 points. His contributions also included 71% FG, 1 assist, and 1 block on Dylan Harper. It was all possible as head coach Finch had the right adjustments throughout the game to save his 4x All-Star in the clutch.

Even legend-turned-analyst Tracy McGrady agreed and tipped his hat to the Wolves’ head coach. “I want to tip my hat off to Finch,” he said on the post-game show on Peacock. “Yeah, I thought this was a well-coached game from Finch, particularly how he utilized Ant-Man. He was going in increments of minutes in the first half to reserve him for the fourth quarter. And he was extremely aggressive in that fourth quarter, taking over the game. So Finch was making all the right moves tonight, and it paid off for these guys. So I want to tip my hat off to him as well.”

With just one day’s rest in between matchups until Game 4, it will be important for Finch to provide proper rest for Edwards. But it won’t be easy, as they have the challenge of Victor Wembanyama staring at them.