Anthony Edwards has not had his A-game in the Western Conference Finals, as the Wolves star struggled with his shot in the first two games and looked oddly lethargic as the Mavs took a 2-0 series lead in Minnesota.
With the series shifting to Dallas and the Wolves facing a virtual must-win situation in Game 3, Edwards proclaimed he would be more aggressive looking for his shot after his sluggish performances in the first two games. He certainly proved that to be true, taking 20 shots in the first three quarters of Game 3, but the shot wasn’t falling until the mid-third quarter when he woke himself up by throwing down what is probably his second-best dunk of the season on Daniel Gafford.
ANTHONY EDWARDS.
OH MY pic.twitter.com/TPpc11CKCm
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 27, 2024
It’s not quite at the level of his poster on John Collins from earlier in the year, but it was the most lively he’s looked in the conference finals and seemed to be what he needed to feel like his normal self. Edwards would hit a pair of tough midrange jumpers immediately after that dunk, as the Wolves turned what had been a double-digit deficit into a brief third quarter lead thanks to their star’s sudden burst.
POSTER dunk.
Step-back jumper.
Fadeaway middy.ANT IS FEELING IT https://t.co/HzlJHTfSjP pic.twitter.com/7QjLQL4bc7
— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2024
We’ll see if the rest of the Wolves can feed off of that energy and turn this into a series, but if nothing else, Edwards finally showed the guy that dominated the first two rounds in this third quarter flurry.