Anthony Edwards dominated the Phoenix Suns and his childhood idol Kevin Durant in more ways than one in a 120-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in their playoff series opener on Saturday.
Edwards not only scored 33 points and hit a crucial 3-pointer in Game 1 of the first-round series, he also verbally berated Durant on the court at Target Center in Minneapolis.
After making several 3-pointers, including one past Durant to extend Minnesota’s lead to 16 points late in the third quarter, Edwards took a jab at the Suns star forward on his way back to the court and Durant He just grinned and shook his head. Alternating current.
Edwards, 22, then explained why this moment was so important to him.
“I think everyone here knows he’s my favorite player of all time,” Edwards said. “So it was probably one of the best feelings of my life.”
Durant, 35, said he doesn’t have a problem with Edwards’ actions.
“It’s just basketball,” Durant said. “It’s not even the playoffs, it’s just hoops. If you get hot, make shots, make tough shots, you’ll be excited about yourself. So it’s my responsibility to keep coming back.”
Edwards scored 18 points, including a game-high 33 points in the third quarter, and Durant led Phoenix with 31 points.
“He did a good job and made some tough games,” Durant said of Edwards’ performance.
And Edwards had even more praise for Durant.
“Did you see him in the third quarter?” Edwards said of Durant. “It felt like we should have been up by 15, 18 points early in the third quarter. If I remember correctly, he made four or five buckets like nothing happened. And , I became a fan at some point.[Damn], He’s nice. ‘There’s nothing we can do…If you look at the stats sheet, he’s played in 11 of 17 games. [from the field]. He missed six shots and hit 31. I mean, he’s the greatest to ever do it. Thank you so much to him, he is the best. ”
The Timberwolves will face the Suns in Game 2 on Tuesday before the series begins in Phoenix on Friday.
