Anthony Edwards helps the Timberwolves defeat the Jazz to complete a two-game sweep in Utah.

On Monday night, Anthony Edwards made the Timberwolves locker room seem like a playground for little children.
Guys were exchanging stories about their reactions to what they had just watched with five minutes and 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter—what Edwards called the best dunk of his career against Utah forward and bottom half of the poster John Collins—before he entered the room after the Wolves’ 114-104 victory over the Jazz.

Edwards said, “Man, it gives me chills.” “Because, you know, I’ve always wanted to jump over someone like Vince Carter did or like watch T-Mac [Tracy McGrady] dunk on someone like that.” That was my all-time favorite dunker, and I had always fantasized of doing it to someone like that.”
Like peers who had just observed something amazing in the midst of the school day, his teammates just needed to tell one another what they were doing and how they were all reacting. Each of them had to confirm with the others precisely where they were at the time of the incident. Edwards was so quick to return to the locker room to realign his dislocated left middle finger that he was unable to even respond to it in real time. Certainly, his teammates did.
Near his locker, Mike Conley told teammates and coaches, “I almost came off the bench.”
Jaden McDaniels addressed Conley, remarking, “He couldn’t even move that finger, brother.”
“Y’all wanna see a dead body?” According to Kyle Anderson, his response went viral, akin to the basketball equivalent of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.”
Edwards threw the ball down at terminal velocity from above the rim over Collins, who had to leave the game for a concussion assessment after the play was done, rather than really slam it (he never touched the rim).
“I was thinking I was gonna miss it because I wasn’t close to the rim,” Edwards said. “But somehow God willed it in for me.”
After exiting the tunnel, Edwards completed the three-point play to allay any brief fears about his finger. He finished with 32 points on 13 of 23 shooting.
After halftime, Naz Reid suffered a head injury, joining Karl-Anthony Towns (left knee) and Rudy Gobert (bruised rib) as injured Timberwolves centers, forcing Edwards to step up once again for the Wolves.
Edwards said with a “hell yeah” that this dunk was superior than the one he made against Toronto’s Yuta Watanabe during his rookie year.
Edwards said, “Everyone expected me to dunk on him (the Toronto player), as if this was a standard play. “This one was crazy.”
However, Edwards said that this six-game road trip wasn’t even his greatest performance. Though Edwards said he had never leaped that high in his life, he would not go so far as to rank it above his other masterpiece from this trip, which became legendary: the block of Aaron Nesmith of Indiana to cement a win against the Pacers on March 7. He was competitive that Monday.
A lot of individuals stop themselves short when they see someone leap like him. They don’t keep moving ahead, according to Conley. “… He’s like a cat — he keeps going forward, lands on his feet.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s stunned expression perfectly captured the feelings of many of his teammates.”I really don’t think people realize what they just witnessed,” said 13-point scorer Alexander-Walker. “I just hope everyone gets it. You’ll understand what the heck he just accomplished if you simply go to a free-throw line, take a stride, and attempt to even grip the mesh. That was most definitely the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Similar to the Nesmith block, this slam had an impact on the game that persisted. The team’s overall attitude improved, and Edwards’ scoring (25 points in the second half), seven points, and eight assists helped the Wolves overcome a 16-point deficit to win the game. After dislocating that finger, all of this.
Conley said, “That’s what a leader does, man.” “He is carrying his team on his shoulders. He is prioritizing us above his health and saying, “Hey, this is a big stretch for us.” We must achieve these victories. His greatest admirer is me. Not only for the dunk, but also for dislocating his finger, going back to tape it up, and how he ended the game, he won me over once again today. When I’m old and gray, I’ll tell folks those tales.”

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The same was true for Alexander-Walker when the locker room cleared out. He was pleased to be able to inform his family that he had a significant role in the play.
“I’m going to tell my children that I departed. That’s how I can help,” Alexander-Walker said. “I can really be like, ‘Oh I was about to shoot it, but I turned it down.’”
Only Edwards and Alexander-Walker were still in the changing room when he talked. Edwards was on the opposite side of the room, watching a few of the dunk replays on his phone when he let out a loud, “Got ‘eeeeeemmm.”
Gobert plans to come back shortly.
Before the game, Gobert gave an interview to the media in which he said he would attempt to return “soon.”
“Right now, the level of pain is getting better every day, but still not good enough for me to be able to be myself and help the team,” Gobert said. “Which is never fun, but hopefully it’s just a matter of days.”
In addition, Gobert was questioned about whether he would skip a playoff game to attend his child’s impending birth later this spring. He promised to do so.

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