When it was all over, Anthony Edwards needed a minute.
He had just played more than 47 minutes of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ too-close-for-comfort win over the New Orleans Pelicans, including the entirety of the second half and overtime. FanDuel Sports Network sideline reporter Ashley Stroehlein approached him for the postgame television interview, but with hands on his knees, Edwards told her he needed to catch his breath before he could talk.
He almost always sits out the first five minutes or so of the fourth quarter before finishing the game. With the Wolves unexpectedly fighting for their lives against the woeful Pelicans on Tuesday night, Edwards told the coaching staff that he did not want to sit. He rewarded their faith with 34 of his 44 points in the second half and overtime, turning what looked like an embarrassing loss into a 149-142 victory.
“I should’ve had 50,” he told Stroehlein.
There are still times when the 24-year-old makes mistakes on the court. He will start slowly when facing a lesser opponent. He will over-dribble in an effort to create his own shot, which stagnates the offense. He will fail to box out his man on the defensive glass. There was some of that in the first 30 minutes of Tuesday’s game.
But there are only a handful of players in the NBA capable of putting on the show that Edwards did over the final 23 minutes to bury the Pelicans. It is what a face of the franchise does: save the team when it needs saving.
Edwards went 10-of-16 from the field in the second half, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. When he answered the bell to start the fourth quarter, he scored Minnesota’s first six points to regain the lead.
Then came a huge 3 with 1:25 left to tie the game at 125.
WON’T BE STOPPED. pic.twitter.com/o2xVpriCEZ
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 3, 2025
The Wolves still trailed with seven seconds to play when Edwards took an inbound pass, surged to the basket and forced overtime with a layup, the first time in his career he has hit a game-tying or -winning shot in the final three seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime.
TIED CAREER-HIGH 30 POINTS IN THE SECOND HALF. pic.twitter.com/Pxij7iQ3gF
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 3, 2025
In overtime, with the Pelicans doubling him as soon as he crossed half court, Edwards shifted into a playmaker. He made two of his three shots, but also racked up three assists in a 20-13 period that allowed the Wolves to escape.
BIG RU. BIG SLAM. 💥 pic.twitter.com/cYlN1qA6TI
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) December 3, 2025
“He wanted to stay in the game in the fourth. He was creating a lot of good offense just simply by the amount of double-teaming he was facing,” coach Chris Finch said. “He was creating great shots for his teammates. That was kind of the only thing we could sustain. He looked good, he looked fresh, as fresh as he could be in that moment.”
In his last six games, Edwards has scored 41, 43, 31, 39, 32 and 44 points, tying Kevin Love for the longest stretch of 30-point games in franchise history.
Rudy Gobert had 26 points on 9-of-10 shooting with 13 rebounds, and Jaden McDaniels went 3-of-3 on 3s, scored 17 points and hit a clutch pull-up jumper in transition late in regulation. Julius Randle overcame a rough first four quarters to score eight points in overtime, and Donte DiVincenzo scored 15 points and had two massive steals to rally the Wolves (13-8) to their third straight win.
“Can’t come into the game thinking you’re gonna win it before it starts,” Edwards said.
Make no mistake, the Wolves never should have needed such a Herculean effort from their star. The Pelicans entered the game with the NBA’s worst record at 3-18. Their minus-10.4 net rating was better than only the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards. Earlier in the day, they announced yet another injury for the perennially injured Zion Williamson, who will miss weeks with a strained adductor.
The Smoothie King Center is probably the quietest arena in the league, and the Pelicans were starting rookies Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears and journeymen Saddiq Bey and Bryce McGowans around promising fifth-year wing Trey Murphy III. The lack of name recognition in their rotation has been a problem all season for the Pels, but it may have been an advantage on Tuesday.
These are the kinds of teams that have plagued Edwards in the past. If he is not aware of a player’s credentials, that opponent can sneak up on him. The coaching staff, as it always does, provided a detailed pregame scouting report, but the Pelicans’ lack of star power seemed to have dulled the Wolves’ blade going into the game.
“They don’t have a go-to guy,” Edwards said. “Everybody out there just playing free.”
The guys they did have gave the Wolves all they could handle. Murphy had 33 points and 15 rebounds, Queen had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Fears scored 21 points for New Orleans.
The Wolves gave up 43 points in the second quarter and 68 in the first half, unacceptable numbers in any game, but especially against a team with the 26th-ranked offense in the league. The Pelicans repeatedly beat Minnesota down the court, building a 10-point lead at halftime and a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter.
There were plenty of signs that the Wolves just didn’t take this game seriously, including when Gobert attempted a jumpshot from the corner with his foot on the 3-point line. It led to another run-out by the Pelicans for two of their 16 fast-break points in the first half.
Loon launched it to Trey 🚀 pic.twitter.com/l4Y5Yu5vjT
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) December 3, 2025
Edwards’ first-half performance was as flavorless as his second half was spicy. He scored 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting, missed four of his five 3s and had two turnovers and zero assists.
As he often does, Edwards took accountability for his slow start and gave some insight into what, from the outside, has appeared to be giving the Timberwolves the most problems early this season. After making back-to-back Western Conference finals runs, they have not played with the same urgency and intensity, particularly on the defensive end. They have often looked like a team that is bored with the regular season, and Edwards confirmed as much after the game.
“Finchy told us we can’t just wait for the playoffs to start playing defense,” he told reporters. “I’m really not worried about it once we get to where we trying to get to. It’s now when it’s super important.
“It seems like we don’t want to play these games. We just want to fast-forward the season to the playoffs and then play all-out defense and play super hard. It just don’t work like that. We gotta be ready to play on any given night, and it starts with me. I came out kind of sluggish. I’ll be better next game.”
The Timberwolves have been playing like they just want to get the regular season over with. If they’re not careful, they will miss the opportunity to build good habits through such a long season. Games like Tuesday night can be a warning or an awakening.
“In the playoffs you can’t turn it on and off. … It’s super important to try to start those trends now,” Edwards said. “Of course it’s tough, man. It’s a collective thing. We all gotta be on the same page. It starts with me. I gotta be ready to play every possession on defense.”
When he finally found that mode in the second half, he did not want to spend a second on the bench and risk losing it. Should he have come out of the gates sharper? Yes. If the Timberwolves truly want to contend for a title this year, as many of them have stated, these first-half lapses have to stop. But some of them will be unavoidable in an 82-game season.
Sometimes, the Wolves will need to be rescued. Sometimes, Edwards will be at least partially responsible for putting them in that position. But when the cape comes on, there are only a few players in the league who can pull a team out of a jam the way Anthony Edwards can.
