At this point, I’m running out of ways to praise Anthony Edwards. Faced with extreme adversity in a must-win Game 6 of their second-round series against the Denver Nuggets, Edwards led by example as the Minnesota Timberwolves staved off elimination to force a final showdown in Denver. 

He was the game’s leading scorer with 27 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals and he had just one turnover during the performance. He also finished the game with an insane plus/minus of +43.

Edwards is showing us that he’s ready for the big stage and it doesn’t even matter if the Timberwolves lose Game 7. He’s the clear leader of his team and his scoring average of 29.7 points per game dwarfs his nearest competitors, which is Karl-Anthony Towns at 17.8 points and Mike Conley, who is putting up 11.2 points. ‘Ant’ has also shown crazy shooting splits of 55.1 % / 41.5 % / 83.8%, numbers that point to his ability to get any type of bucket that he wants.

Sure, Edwards’ averages in the first round were bit more impressive – 31.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.0 steals – but his shooting remained the same. It’s just that he now is facing far more adversity in a Nuggets team that also has the offensive power (at least on a good night) to match the T-Wolves.

That’s what made Minnesota’s Game 6 victory even more impressive. Yes, it was an insane 45-point ass-whooping. But how they got there shows good signs for their chances to steal the series. After the Nuggets went on an early 9-2 run to open the game, something snapped for Minnesota. It was almost like they decided to stop fucking around and they rediscovered their vaunted defense as they closed out the first quarter with a 29-5 run of their own.

Edwards even survived a bit of a scare in the game after he fell down hard. It didn’t take him that long to come back, though, and his return to the court certainly inspired his teammates. 

The Nuggets never really recovered again after that, with Nikola Jokic being the only Denver player to break the 20-point barrier. With their star guard locked in, the Timberwolves never let their feet off the gas and their roleplayers played their roles to perfection. Rudy Gobert finished the game with eight points and 14 rebounds, Karl-Anthony Towns had 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, and then Jaden McDaniels shot an insane 8 of 10 overall on the way to an easy 21 points.

I’ve got no damn clue who’s going to win Game 7, because all but one game in this series has essentially been a blowout. What I do know, though, is that Edwards will leave it all on the court. I can’t wait to see what he musters up for the deciding game.