Anthony Edwards cites exploiting mismatches as key to win after Clippers' 'best defender' Kawhi Leonard went down

Anthony Edwards had an impressive outing on Tuesday to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 118-100 win over the LA Clippers. “Ant-Man” finished with 37 points, eight rebounds, four assists and one steal in 37 minutes. The All-Star guard did most of his damage starting the second quarter until the Clippers surrendered with about four minutes left in the fourth period.

LA raced to a 34-21 first-quarter lead behind Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. “The Claw played the entire first 12 minutes but couldn’t continue after that. Leonard couldn’t even sit comfortably on the bench so he left for the locker room. Minnesota began to make its move without the two-time NBA Finals MVP.

After the game, Anthony Edwards had this to say about what the Clippers tried to do to contain him (via Vito Corleonie):

“Just a bunch of mismatches. … Their best defender is Kawhi [Leonard]. He went down, and they were just putting two on me and trying stuff.”

Edwards had eight points in the first quarter before exploding for 14 in the second frame. The LA Clippers put “PG-13” on him but he couldn’t be stopped. Clippers coach Ty Lue tried to give the former Georgia Bulldogs star different looks but it still didn’t work. Behind Edwards’ sizzling form, Minnesota outscored LA 34-29 to cut the deficit to 63-55 leading into the second half.

---

Anthony Edwards made timely shots in the second half to lead the Timberwolves to a 22-point comeback win

Nickeil Walker-Alexander took over from Anthony Edwards at the start of the third quarter. The backup guard hit a flurry of shots to hand the Minnesota Timberwolves their first taste of the lead. But, it was Edwards who pushed his team to a strong finishing kick to give the Timberwolves an 84-78 advantage after the third period. The two-time All-Star dropped eight points in a telling 15-4 run to close out the third frame.

The fourth quarter began the way the third period started. Instead of Walker-Alexander, it was Mike Conley’s turn to get hot. The veteran playmaker hit back-to-back threes and a righty floater to give the Timberwolves their biggest lead of the game.

The LA Clippers tried a few more rallies but Anthony Edwards responded to snuff out those attempts. Without Kawhi Leonard and despite Paul George being a capable defender, there was no stopping the “Ant-Man.”

Ty Lue finally had enough and gave in with four minutes left in the game. There was too much of Edwards on Tuesday and he got help from across the roster to drag Minnesota to an impressive come-from-behind win.

Anthony Edwards will have to continue playing in this way as the Timberwolves try to end the regular season strong. They are set for a photo finish with the OKC Thunder and Denver Nuggets for the best record and top seed in the tightly-contested Western Conference.