In the closing moments of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ disappointing 115-107 defeat against the Denver Nuggets in Game 4, Anthony Edwards exhibited defiance rather than defeat. Despite the Wolves relinquishing their two-game lead in the Western Conference semifinals to the defending champions during a challenging homestand, Edwards remained resolute.

As Edwards crossed paths with Denver’s Jamal Murray near the sideline, he expressed his sentiments with palpable intensity, clapping his hands, nodding his head, and maintaining his unwavering focus on the Nuggets point guard while delivering a clear message.

“I just told his ass we love that,” revealed Edwards, who delivered a stellar performance with a game-high 44 points. “‘Keep talking [like] that. That’s what we like.’ Well, I loved it. He didn’t say nothing back. But I’m pretty sure he heard me. They heard me. You live for that.”

Prior to his verbal exchange, Edwards had already made a significant impact on the game with his exceptional play. He surpassed the 40-point mark for the second time in the series and the third time in this postseason, shooting an impressive 16-for-25 from the field (64%), 5-for-8 from beyond the arc (62.5%), and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line (87.5%).

In contrast, the rest of the Wolves struggled offensively, collectively shooting 40.4% overall, 30% from 3-point range, and 57.9% from the free-throw line. With the series now tied at 2-2, the Wolves face a pivotal Game 5 as they head back to Denver.

Murray, who contributed 13 of his 19 points between the final two seconds of the first half and the first four and a half minutes of the third quarter — a stretch that notably included a remarkable buzzer-beating 3-pointer from 55 feet out to conclude the second quarter — refrained from commenting on the exchange with Edwards.

However, he did acknowledge the challenge of defending against the explosive Wolves shooting guard, who boasts an impressive average of 33.3 points on 60.4% shooting across the first four games of the series.

“He’s downhill, he’s tough to guard, he’s explosive,” Murray acknowledged. “He’s always in attack mode, you know what I’m saying? So I think we can just do a better job of just giving him some attention.”

While Edwards confronted Murray on the court, he provided comfort and encouragement to his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, who endured a challenging shooting night, converting just 5 of his 18 attempts. Despite his struggles, Towns managed to contribute 13 points, while Nuggets stars Nikola Jokic (35 points on 15-for-26 shooting) and Aaron Gordon (27 points on 11-for-12 shooting) delivered stellar performances.

“He’s a superstar,” Edwards praised Towns. “He gets paid to put the ball in the rim. I always tell him, ‘Don’t you ever stop shooting the ball because you missed five or six. I don’t give a damn. In order for us to win, we need you to score.’ I’m just happy he was aggressive the entire night. That’s a win for us tonight. Him being aggressive throughout after having an off night, I guess.”

Despite receiving words of encouragement from Edwards and showing improvement in the second half, Towns couldn’t conceal his disappointment.

“Things weren’t falling today,” Towns lamented. “I take responsibility for that. I know I put the work in, so I feel good about the work I put in. It’s shown this playoffs, obviously. It’s unfortunate that on Mother’s Day I have a shooting performance like that. But it’s the way the game goes. It’s not a fun game sometimes.”

Towns’ mother, Jackie Cruz-Towns, passed away from COVID-19 complications in April 2020.

As the longest-tenured member of the team, Towns has endured numerous on-court setbacks throughout his career, including several seasons with fewer than 30 wins before the Wolves’ breakthrough 56-win campaign this season, which earned them the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

“We just got to stay connected in this locker room,” Towns emphasized. “Even through good, bad, we always are together and we always lean into the brotherhood that we have built here. … But it’s a test now. And we got to be willing to show the work that we’ve put into our friendships and our relationships in this team, and that work that we’ve put in all year will materialize to us either finding a way to win this series together or finding ourselves on the wrong side of history.”

Despite the Nuggets knotting up the series, Edwards remains unfazed, adopting a positive outlook.

“I don’t think they got any momentum,” Edwards asserted regarding the Nuggets. “We won two games. They won two games. At this point, it’s whoever wins two [more] games. I don’t know how people look at it, but I look at it like I’m happy. I’m ready.

“It’s competing at the highest level. I’m smiling about it because I’m happy. I’m ready to go play. If we played tomorrow, I’d be ready. It’s going to be fun.”