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[Saba Sports News] The Minnesota Timberwolves squandered Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, prompting some fans to blame star Anthony Edwards. In the 109-108 loss at Target Center, Edwards struggled, scoring 21 points on 5/17 shooting, with 5 rebounds and 7 assists.
Edwards’ critical turnover led to Luka Doncic’s go-ahead triple over Rudy Gobert, putting the Mavericks up 109-108 with three seconds left. Edwards also passed up the potential game-winning shot in the final moments. Fans on social media were quick to dismiss the comparison of Edwards to Michael Jordan after his performance.
Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for a poor shooting night, going 9/33 from the field. Timberwolves’ reserve Naz Reid shone with 23 points and 7 three-pointers off the bench.
It’s worth noting that Jordan didn’t reach the conference finals until he was 25, three years older than Edwards. However, Jordan averaged 43.7 points per game in the playoffs against the eventual-champion Boston Celtics at 22.
While Edwards himself has rejected comparisons to Jordan, his role in leading the Timberwolves to the conference finals had previously positioned him as a potential future star.