On April 17, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA playoffs ushered in the first game day. In a pivotal Western Conference game, the Timberwolves took on the Grizzlies on the road. In the playoffs, the Timberwolves beat the Clippers 109-104 at home to enter the playoffs as the 7th in the West.
There were a number of outstanding young players in today's game, but since the start of the game, the most eye-catching is the Timberwolves 2020 champion Edwards. He quickly hit a three-pointer and then hit mid-range to lead the Timberwolves to a 9-2 start. This was just the beginning of Edwards' performance, who then hit two long straight points and completed a dunk in the second half of the quarter, the Timberwolves led the Grizzlies 41-33 in the first quarter, edwards had 13 points and three assists on 5-of-7 shooting in the quarter.
In the second quarter, Edwards' hand slipped slightly, but he still scored six points on 2-of-5 shooting, and delivered a steal and a block on the defensive end. After entering the third quarter, Edwards played a terrifying performance again, facing the Grizzlies' counterattack, Edwards hit a three-pointer in a row at the top of the arc and 45 degrees on the right side, in addition to a strong attack under the basket and hit a mid-range shot, scoring 12 points again on 4-of-7 shooting in the quarter.
Edwards wasn't replaced until mid-quarter in the final quarter, and after Morante dunked to help the Grizzlies chase seven points, Edwards hit a three-pointer to help the team lead to 10 points. Two and a half minutes before the finale, Edwards assisted Beverley to hit a three-pointer, and the Timberwolves led by eight points and secured the game.
In the end, the Timberwolves beat the Grizzlies 130-117, achieving a series start and a win on the road, which made this victory particularly rare. Today is edwards' first playoff career, he played 40 minutes, 12 of 23 shooting, including 4 of 11 three-pointers, 8 of 8 free throws, and a total of 36 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks! As a sophomore, It's not easy for Edwards to make such a performance in his playoff debut.
It is worth mentioning that Edwards set a lot of records today.
1.36 points set a new record for player playoff debut scoring in Timberwolves history.
After scoring today's 30th point, Edwards became the 4th youngest player in NBA history to score 30+ in the playoffs with 20 years and 255 days, behind Rose (20 years and 196 days), Jennings (20 years and 206 days), and Hiro (20 years and 247 days).
3.36 points set the fourth place in NBA history debut scores.
According to the schedule, the Timberwolves and Grizzlies series G2 will take place on April 20.