MINNEAPOLIS — It wasn’t the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ dominant defense that Anthony Edwards credited for his team’s 115-70 shellacking of the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 on Thursday. It wasn’t his own ascendant offense either, after Edwards led all scorers with 27 points and helped the Wolves outscore Denver by 43 in the 34 minutes he was on the court.
No, according to Edwards, it was simply the presence of Minnesota’s 36-year-old point guard that made all the difference in the Wolves snapping a three-game losing streak in the Western Conference semifinals to force Game 7 on Sunday.
“We got Mike Conley back,” Edwards said. “That was it.”
Conley, a 17-year veteran, missed Tuesday’s Game 5 because of a sore right Achilles tendon. The Nuggets’ defense responded by attacking Edwards with double-teams all night, and the Wolves missed Conley’s ability to balance the court.
“Obviously I wanted to play last game,” Conley said. “Just couldn’t move at all. Tonight it was a no-brainer. I was going to try to find a way. We’re just better when we’re a complete team.”
Conley had 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and no turnovers, but his impact was amplified by Minnesota’s ability to deny Denver a chance to key in on Edwards.
Edwards struggled with 18 points on 5-for-15 shooting and 4 turnovers in Game 5. He had a season-high 102 touches, according to Second Spectrum, and shouldered an outsized portion of the offensive load for a Minnesota squad that was starting to sputter against the defending champs.
With Conley back in the lineup, Edwards’ touches were cut to 64 in Game 6, and he was more efficient, shooting 8-for-17 and committing only one turnover.
“Mike means everything for us,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “Unbelievable next to Anthony in terms of being able to set him up, play off of him, be in his ear all of the time. Smart defender. Just everything you want in an experienced, veteran point guard and just the very fact that Ant doesn’t have to handle it every single time, that alone helps us. … We desperately missed him the other night.”
In the three previous games, the Wolves had been missing the type of lockdown defense that carried them to a 2-0 lead to open the series. The coaching…
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