Loss to Memphis spoils another special night for Timberwolves’ rookie Anthony Edwards

Apart from which team won – for the Wolves it didn’t really matter – what transpired at Target Center Wednesday was some impressive entertainment.

Starring: Wolves rookie of the year candidate Anthony Edwards vs. reigning ROY Ja Morant of Memphis.

Back and forth, all night. Morant primarily driving, attacking. Edwards efficient from both inside and out.

Edwards with 42 points, Morant with 37. Edwards willing his team to stay in the game, Morant at one point scoring seven straight for Memphis late in the fourth.

Oh, right, the game: The Wolves traded punches with the Grizzlies for most of the night. Ultimately, not enough defense – and Karl-Anthony Towns’ foul trouble – contributed to a 139-135 Memphis victory. For the Wolves (20-46) it was a second straight loss after winning four straight. The victory moved Memphis over .500 (33-32).

But, oh man, Edwards:

He made 17 of 22 shots, including eight of nine three-pointers. He had six rebounds, seven assists, a steal. His eight threes are a franchise rookie record. His assists were a career high, his points matched his rookie record. He was an integral part of just about everything good the Wolves did. His will kept the Wolves in the fight. He just didn’t get enough help. A 17-8 run to end the third put the Grizzlies up four, and they held on to win. In his first start since returning from injury, D’Angelo Russell had a 22-point, 14-assist double-double. Towns, fighting foul trouble, scored 22. Juancho Hernangomez and Naz Reid both scored in double figure off the bench.

Karl Anderson had 20 and Desmond Bane had 21 for the Grizzlies.

Jarred Vanderbilt’s basket with 2:51 left put the Wolves up a point, but Morant scored, was fouled and made the free throw. Moments later Naz Reid’s three put the Wolves up two, but Anderson’s three put the Grizzlies up for good.

The Wolves started slowly. With the game tied at seven, Anderson had five points, including a three-pointer, as the Grizzlies scored nine straight.

But the Wolves found their legs. Edwards scored seven points in 16-7 run that tied the game at 23 on Towns’ hook with 4:34 left in the quarter, forcing a Grizzlies time out.

Out of that time out the Wolves kept going, pushing that run to 21-7 – with Towns scoring 10 of those points – to go up 27-23 on Towns’ three-pointer with 3:40 left.

Unfortunately, the Wolves missed six of their next seven shots, with a turnover, as the Grizzlies—who had a 10-1 edge from the free throw line — ended the quarter on a 10-2 run to go up 33-29 entering the second quarter.

The two teams traded punches in the second quarter, too. With the game tied at 38 the Grizzlies scored seven straight only to have the Wolves went on a 9-2 run of their own to tie the game at 47 on Edwards’ 26-foot three with 7:10 left.

The rest of the half belonged to Memphis, which finished the half 26-16, a run exacerbated with Towns on the bench for much of that time with three fouls. Nine players scored in the Grizzlies’ 40-point quarter –the team made 18 of 25 shots — with Bane scoring eight and Morant scoring 11.

The Wolves were down 13 early in the third quarter when Edwards and the Wolves got going. The result: a 29-11 run – one in which Edwards scored 13 points – to go up 95-90 on two Towns free throws with 5:01 left, only to have the Grizzlies finish the quarter on a 17-8 run to go up four entering the fourth.