Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards threw down the dunk of the year as the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied in the second half to defeat the Utah Jazz 114-104.
Minnesota trailed Utah by as many as 16 points early in the game, with the odds not in their favor as star players Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns were sidelined with injuries for the Timberwolves. However, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards took matters into his own hands to battle back against the Jazz.
Minnesota outscored Utah 61-45 in the second half, and a lot of that momentum came at the halfway point in the third quarter when Edwards facilitated a fast break, giving the ball to Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the wing, and cutting to the paint to receive a give and go from Alexander-Walker. A cutting Edwards rose with the ball to meet a 6-foot-9 John Collins at the rim and threw down an authoritative poster that shocked the crowd.
ANTHONY EDWARDS OMG 😱🤯 pic.twitter.com/AJP27GCkxG
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 19, 2024
The dunk was so forceful that it injured both of the players. Shams Charania of The Athletic revealed that Collins sustained a head injury but not a concussion. After the game, Edwards acknowledged that he had dislocated his finger, which was visible because he held it when teammates approached to celebrate the dunk. It didn't stop him or his team, though. He continued playing to make his free throws, and for the remainder of the third quarter, he either scored or assisted on every field goal the Timberwolves made.
Edwards finished the game with 32 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, as the Timberwolves outscored the Jazz by 10 in the fourth quarter to secure a 10-point victory on the road. Minnesota’s victory over Utah propelled them to earn a share of second place in the West, with the Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets both 0.5 games behind the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
