Anthony Edwards silenced every doubter in San Antonio on Monday night, making a stunning injury comeback to help the Minnesota Timberwolves edge the San Antonio Spurs 104-102 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. The star guard had been widely expected to sit out at least the first two games of the series after suffering a bone bruise and hyperextending his left knee late in April — but Edwards had other plans entirely.
Edwards did not even start the game, entering off the bench with just under seven minutes left in the first quarter, at a point when Minnesota were already trailing. From there, he took over when it mattered most, scoring 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter alone and finishing an efficient 8-for-13 from the field across 25 minutes of action. After draining a stepback three-pointer early on, he turned to the Spurs bench and let them know exactly what time it was — screaming, “I’m back! I’m back!”
His teammates certainly felt the shift in energy. Timberwolves veteran Mike Conley put it plainly after the game, saying nobody had expected Edwards to suit up at all. “It was just his level of commitment to the game,” Conley said. “Not just to the game, but to his teammates. It showed a lot.” Edwards himself acknowledged the psychological weight his presence carries for the squad, noting that simply being on the floor takes pressure off everyone around him.
Anthony Edwards leads Minnesota Timberwolves past Spurs despite record-breaking Victor Wembanyama performance
The remarkable thing about this Timberwolves victory is that it came against one of the most dominant individual defensive performances in NBA playoff history. Victor Wembanyama recorded 11 points, 15 rebounds, and a postseason-record 12 blocks, making him only the third player in NBA history to record a triple-double in the playoffs that includes blocks — a stat the league has only been tracking since the 1973-74 season. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year had seven of those blocks in the first half alone, repeatedly swatting away drives from Timberwolves players like they were afterthoughts.
Despite that individual brilliance, Wembanyama and the Spurs could not get the job done when it counted. San Antonio cut the deficit to just two points — 104-102 — with 31 seconds remaining, courtesy of a Devin Vassell steal and a Dylan Harper layup. Minnesota’s Julius Randle then missed a shot that could have iced the game, giving the Spurs one final chance, but Julian Champagnie’s buzzer-beating three-pointer fell short.
Wembanyama, who shot a difficult 5-for-17 from the field, was honest in his post-game assessment. “We have to be better,” he said, adding that he trusts the group to figure things out ahead of Game 2. That self-awareness and belief in his team will be important — the Spurs are young, hungry, and clearly capable of competing at this level, even if the result did not go their way.
Randle led all Timberwolves scorers with 21 points and 10 rebounds, giving Minnesota a reliable secondary option alongside Edwards. For the Spurs, Harper finished with 18 points, while Julian Champagnie and Stephon Castle each added 17. Minnesota were also without injured guards Donte DiVincenzo (torn right Achilles tendon) and Ayo Dosunmu (right calf soreness), making Edwards’ return all the more critical to the team’s chances.
It is also worth noting that this result hands San Antonio only its second defeat in its last 17 series openers at home — a telling statistic that underlines just how much Minnesota had to dig deep to get this one. Game 2 goes ahead on Wednesday in San Antonio, and with Wembanyama likely to make adjustments and Edwards’ fitness still a question mark from one game to the next, this series is shaping up to be one of the most compelling matchups of the entire playoffs. Minnesota hold the early advantage, but anyone writing off the Spurs after this performance clearly wasn’t watching Wembanyama’s historic night.