PHOENIX – Rookie Anthony Edwards achieves a career high of 42 points, Karl-Anthony Towns adds 41 and the Minnesota Timberwolves suddenly look like a respected NBA basketball team.
The Timberwolves used the dominant Edwards-CAT combination on Thursday night and a return in the fourth quarter to stun the Phoenix Suns 123-119. They have won three of five games since the All Star break.
At age 19 and 225 days old, Edwards became the third youngest player in NBA history with a game of 40 points.
“Our future success starts now,” said Timberwolves coach Chris Finch.
The Timberwolves still have the worst record in the NBA at 10-31, but have played much better over the past few weeks. Edwards and Towns wore Minnesota in this one and threw in points from across the floor.
After the game, Edwards gave away his jersey to his ‘blood brother’ who was at the game and gave his shoes to other fans. The 19-year-old smiled from ear to ear as he walked away from the court.
“We win,” he said. “It’s always happy when we win.”
Edwards, who was first in Georgia last summer, made 15 of 31 shots. Towns were even more efficient and made 15 of 24 shots, including 5 of 7 3-pointers. Juancho Hernangomez passed with 2.5 seconds left to seal it.
It was only the second time in Minnesota’s franchise history that two players scored 40 points in the same game.
“Incredibly special,” Finch said. “They played pretty efficiently. CAT has almost a triple double. They carried us. ‘
Jevon Carter hit a three-pointer just before the buzz in the third quarter to give the Suns a 91-83 lead. But the Timberwolves retained the game, and Towns tied it at 107 after a 3-point lead with less than five minutes left. Towns also added ten rebounds and eight assists.
These were the kind of performances the Timberwolves envisioned when they picked Edwards, who had a lovely jumper and produced some highlights on Thursday. The 6-foot-4 guard is averaging 30.6 points over his past five games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.