NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: TIMBERWOLVES VS WARRIORS

May 12, 2025

Anthony Edwards

Minnesota Timberwolves

Game 4 - Postgame Media Conference

Minnesota Timberwolves 117, Golden State Warriors 110

Q. You got going in the third quarter individually and as a team. What changed to get you guys rolling the way that you did?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: At halftime, Coach came in and just said we playing like we already won the series, pretty much, and I don't really like that.

I didn't like how we were playing overall, and I didn't like how I was playing individually. I know I had to pick it up.

Q. What had to change the most?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: Our defense. We were letting Jonathan Kuminga just get everywhere he wanted to go. Draymond was pushing the pace. We wasn't impacting the ball unless he was crossing halfcourt.

Offensive rebounds, we wasn't boxing out. We wasn't limiting those guys to one shot. Just game plan mistakes that can't happen if you want to beat a championship team and if you want to being to the Finals, or Western Conference Finals, at least, you can't. You can't let those things happen. You've got to be better.

Q. What's it like when you are on one of those runs when you are offensively in the third quarter?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: It's the best feeling ever.

Q. Did it start with the shot you made at the end of the first half to kind of get you going?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: Probably. Yeah, probably that. Was a nice shot for me. It got me going.

Q. Finch was saying you are one of the most vocal guys at halftime. Were you delivering some of that message you were talking about before? What was your message to the team at halftime?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: I told him, we only got two wins. I've never seen a series end 2-1.

I told them we have to get two more wins and right now we playing like we already got four wins. Like, we playing like they going to lay down and knowing this team, knowing their head coach, they are never going to lay down. We had to figure it out because if we would have kept playing like that, we would have lost tonight.

Q. Talking to a couple of your teammates about your run in the third quarter, what it was like, and they said you could hear the pain in the crowd. When you are on the road, you can hear the pain in the crowd. What does it do for you when you hear that?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: Satisfaction. Just the best satisfaction ever.

Q. What's your leadership role and Julius's leadership role in this group, and how do you play well off of each other's games?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: Leadership roles, I don't really -- it's not really about it. I don't really think it's about, like, our roles.

It's just about certain things have to be said at certain times because you know, you can't get comfortable. You can't get comfortable in the NBA, especially not the playoffs. And just learning how to play off Ju. When he in the post, knowing when to cut. Knowing when to space for him. Just reading him, man, and I think the more we play together, the better we've got, for me, being able to read him, when to be ready to shoot, when to cut, when to screen for him, when to get out of his way. Because he a force when he going downhill, man. He had it going tonight. It was exciting to watch. I told him, he cold.

Q. I heard you when you were coming into the locker room at halftime, just telling your teammates that they got to do a better job of finding you so you can help them. Do you feel like that was something that happened and it helped get you going in the third?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: Yeah, for sure and it was all Jaden, only. Because me and Jaden, I talk to Jaden the most. I tell Jaden all the time, I come up to him in time-outs. The way they guard you, boom, you have to be in actions with me.

I think one play, he drove to the corner, strung the defense out and then curved around and DHO'ed to me and set a great screen, and I walked into a three-ball.

It's usually Jaden most of the time because he gets the ball. He pushes. If he ain't got nothing, I tell him, come back right to me and trust me, so big shout-out to Jaden.

Q. In the first quarter, looked like after you hit a three you were talking on the sideline to Steph, and saw the video of you pregame having some fun with the night-night. How tough is it to not have that player on the court competing against you, to have someone to have that game within the game against, and how do you keep that even though he's not in the game?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: Sometimes it's tough. But trust me, man, I wish he could be out there to play against him, no matter how it goes.

But yeah just from working out with him in the summer, that's what I told him after I hit a Tracy. Because he told me, I had missed one. He was like, "You wasn't going to make that. You was too open."

I was like, "I ain't never going to stop shooting them. I learned that from you this summer." Yeah, man, he's the greatest. Greatest shooter of all time. I would definitely love to compete against him, man, but he got hurt, unfortunately, and I hope he gets better.

Q. Just wanted to talk about that moment you shared with Gary Payton. Obviously got his jersey. Talk about that moment, how dope it is that you have these legends coming up to you and giving you props and stuff?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: He didn't really come up to me. I came up to him. I don't think he's the type of guy to go up to nobody can give props, anyway. I went up to him because of course I hear all the stuff about him, and then I go watch film on him and he was really like that.

I told him, "I'm a big fan and I love the way you guard." Even offensively, he had a lot of game, you know what I'm saying. And his son kind of played defense similar to him, his son, super handsy, physical. Big shout-out to him.

Q. At what point of the regular season did it register in your head that Julius had, like, this level of offensive game, and being able to do what he's been able to do in this series?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: You said during the regular season? I think when he came back from injury. When he came back from injury, it was just like, I don't -- it was like a whole different person pretty much. I don't even really know what else to say.

When he came back from injury from that Phoenix game it was like, Oh, yeah, we might be on to something. Yeah, I think that was the turning point.

Q. Even when you've had big games, you're conscious about saying Jaden is MVP or singling out whoever. Why is that important to you to be their biggest cheerleader?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: That's what it's about, man. You want to see your teammates succeed. You want to see your teammates shine. Not my teammates, my brothers. We go to battle every night. We play 82 games. We be with each other eight, nine months out of the year.

Those guys like my brothers, man. Nothing like seeing them compete and produce the a high level because you know that makes everybody happy, and I can't wait to come here and praise them every time, every chance I get. Because I know everybody want to give me the credit, but I can't do it without those guys. They the MVP every night, every single night. They come and play their balls off, and I can't ask for nothing better.

Q. Last series you mentioned a couple times the late night conversations you and C-Hines would have trading clips and reading defenses. How did those late night sessions come about with you two, and how frequent are they and how important are they? Just that conversations late at night between you two to your success in breaking down a defense and navigating the playoffs?

ANTHONY EDWARDS: It's super important because he's a psycho, man. Like he breaks stuff down, like to ways that I've never seen before, and it helps me, man because I be struggling sometimes. Like I go out there and I'm not playing well in the first quarter. And then he come and bringing me some film, and he like you got to do this.

Being able to, I think, listen and be willing to learn. That's the biggest thing for me because most guys don't want to listen or they think they know it all already, and having somebody like that in my corner is big for me, man, because he gets on me when I'm messing up and he never gives me too much credit, so I appreciate him for sure.