Sometimes a hero just needs to strap on his cape and save the day.
The Timberwolves needed saving on Saturday night in Philadelphia, when Quentin Grimes went nuclear in the final four minutes of the game to put Minnesota in danger of dropping a can’t-lose game to the ghostly remains of the 76ers. They were clinging to a two-point lead with under 14 seconds to play when Anthony Edwards inbounded the ball on the sideline, then went and got it from a bottled up Rudy Gobert.
The Sixers did what every team does when facing the Timberwolves in a close game down the stretch — they doubled Edwards to try to get the ball out of his hands. But there was a problem for Edwards. The shot clock was winding down, having just ticked under 2 seconds as he looked for some way out of the mess he was in. He pivoted a full 360 degrees, then took a quick escape dribble to his right, only to find that there was no way out of the predicament.
With a turnover looming, Edwards just rose up and fired a desperation shot. Not only did it go in, but it splashed through the net like an Olympic diver hits the water, with barely a tremor from the net. The shot capped a 37-point night for Edwards and gave the Wolves their fifth straight win, 114-109 over Philadelphia.
H.O.R.S.E 🤯 pic.twitter.com/zep7RxpavS
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 6, 2025
To no one’s surprise, including the vocal contingent of fans in Philadelphia cheering for him over their tanking Sixers, Edwards was confident in the shot before he even rose up to shoot it.
“When it left my hand, I swear to God, people are going to think I am lying, but I knew it was going in,” Edwards said, according to the team’s social media team.
“You put them away, killer,” point guard Mike Conley said to him. “You put them away. My guy.”
It was a hero shot by a hero player, and it could not have come at a better time for the desperate Timberwolves. They are 14-3 in their last 17 games, but that hasn’t been enough to cement a spot in the top six in the Western Conference. Seemingly every time the Wolves win a game, the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers win as well, making it impossible for them to gain any kind of separation in the search for sixth.
As it stands, the Wolves (46-32) are in the sixth seed because they own the tiebreaker in a three-way tie with the Los Angeles Clippers (seventh) and Memphis Grizzlies (eighth). They are also a half-game behind fifth-seeded Golden State (46-31), one game behind fourth-seeded Denver (47-31) and 1 1/2 games behind the third-seeded Lakers (47-30). It’s a preposterous race with four games to go for Minnesota, with games at Milwaukee and Memphis next week, followed by two at home against Brooklyn and Utah to finish the regular season.
A loss to this Sixers team would have been disastrous.
The Wolves have played down to lesser competition often this year, and Friday was no exception. The 76ers were without almost everyone in this game. Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrus Maxey, Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry, Eric Gordon and Jared McCain all did not play. And yet, Philly was in the game the whole way.
The Wolves led by 11 with four minutes to go, but Grimes hit three straight 3-pointers to cut the lead to 104-101 with 2:12 to play, and Guerschon Yabusele hit a couple of free throws to bring the Sixers within one. Edwards responded with a 3 and a midrange bank shot for the slightest bit of breathing room.
Just when Minnesota appeared to have it all wrapped up, Grimes got a steal and a dunk and another 3 to make the score 111-109. He scored 17 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and has made it clear that Luka Dončić isn’t the only dangerous offensive player the Dallas Mavericks gave up leading into the trade deadline.
The Sixers looked to be in prime position to get the ball back with a chance to tie or win the game when they pinned Edwards near the sideline. But Edwards just rose up over both defenders in front of him and let it fly, the kind of tough shot that player development coach Chris Hines has helped him add to his game since coming into the league in 2020.
“I had nobody to throw it to,” Edwards told FanDuel Sports North after the game. “I knew I just needed enough space to get a shot off. I work on all those shots every day with C-Hines. Big shoutout to him.”
When the shot went through, it touched off a wild celebration on the Wolves sideline. But it likely came more out of relief than excitement. Every game is essential now, and yet they still have nights like this one where a team that has no business hanging with them does that and more.
“At times we looked like we were trying to give it back to them, but it was just enough plays to win,” coach Chris Finch said.
Gobert had another monster night with 23 points and 19 rebounds, making 10 of his 11 shots and also getting three blocks and two steals. Gobert has seven straight double-doubles, including two straight with at least 20 points on at least 90 percent shooting with 15 or more rebounds. Wilt Chamberlain, who did it three times, is only other player to post numbers like that in consecutive games.
“He refuses to let us lose on nights like this when you could argue that we probably should have,” Finch said. “All credit to him. We need more guys playing with that intentionality.”
This was the second straight game that Finch has sounded unimpressed after a win. The Wolves muddled through a victory over tanking Brooklyn on Thursday, and Finch said he needs to see more urgency from his players with the stakes so high.
“It’s been who we’ve been all season, and it’s disappointing,” Finch said. “It starts with surviving our own mistakes. We had a bunch of guys who didn’t play particularly well today, and the energy goes down around that.”
5 IN A ROWWWWW pic.twitter.com/yiuDogjkeL
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 6, 2025
Jaden McDaniels was particularly sluggish, going 0 for 6 with two points and three rebounds. When Grimes started cooking him in the fourth quarter, Finch went to Nickeil Alexander-Walker in an attempt to slow him down. McDaniels often seems like one of the biggest culprits when it comes to not playing well against lower competition, but he wasn’t alone on Saturday night.
Julius Randle had a pretty quiet 15 points, five rebounds and four assists and Naz Reid was 0 for 5 from 3 and had five turnovers.
“We need to have Ant and Julius lead the way offensively,” Finch said. “Our offense is sputtering. Unfortunately, the last two games our offense has gotten off to slow starts. we’ve got to make more energy plays to get guys going.”
Edwards did his part, going 12 for 21 from the field, including 6 for 13 from deep. He now has hit a league-leading 303 3s this season, becoming the fifth player in NBA history to exceed 300 makes in a season. Steph Curry has done it five times. The Wolves needed every one of them on Saturday night.
This is no time for the energy to dip. The Wolves are in a fight for their playoff lives, and none of their immediate competitors are giving an inch. They may have won five in a row, but so have the Warriors. The Clippers have won four straight and are 8-2 in their last 10 to Minnesota’s 7-3.
The Wolves might have gotten a little bit luck with Ant’s explosion to avoid what would have been another killer loss to a bad team. The schedule is slightly more favorable down the stretch. But as Finch said, that may not be a good thing for them.
(Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)