Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards dislocates finger on poster over Jazz’s John Collins | Top Vip News

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By Jon Krawczynski, Shams Charania and Alex Andrejev

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards’ impressive poster dunk over Utah Jazz power forward John Collins on Monday was so emphatic that it left both players injured.

Edwards, in a postgame interview with Bally Sports North, said he dislocated a finger on his left hand. Collins, who received the dunk, left with a head contusion after contesting the slam, according to league sources. Collins did not suffer a concussion.

The highlight came when Minnesota trailed by one point in the third quarter. With the ball headed to Edwards, he picked it up, dribbled down the court and passed it to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who then sent the ball back to Edwards on the line. Edwards then proceeded to score the potential dunk of the year on the 6-foot-9 Collins.

After Edwards landed, he appeared to be holding his finger as his teammates surrounded him in celebration.

Minnesota won 114-104, with Edwards scoring a game-high 32 points.

Edwards Dunk History

Edwards is no stranger to high-flying dunks. Since his rookie season, when he caused an avalanche on Toronto’s Yuta Watanabe, he quickly became known as one of the league’s most violent dunkers. Alperen Şengün, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jalen McDaniels and Jalen Duren are just a few of the defenders who have felt his wrath over the years. Arguably his best dunk was one that he technically didn’t count when he threw over Miami’s Gabe Vincent in his second season and was called for an offensive foul.

This one about Collins was shocking in more ways than one. The Wolves were trailing when Edwards was promoted, unable to advance offensively without the injured Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid, who did not play in the second half due to a head injury. The Wolves outscored the Jazz 49-38 the rest of the game to earn a much-needed victory.

Collins did not return to the game after the dunk, and Edwards’ hand inadvertently struck Collins in the head.

The dunk also got Edwards going. He scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half to put the Wolves’ offense on his back. — Jon Krawczynski, Timberwolves senior writer

‘He is Wolverine’

When Edwards threw down the dunk, he stopped and looked at his left hand. His teammates also looked at his finger and were wide-eyed as Edwards quickly headed to the locker room for attention. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch called a timeout to buy some time because Edwards needed to shoot a free throw after being fouled on the dunk. If he didn’t shoot the free throw, he couldn’t get back into the game.

Edwards returned with the fingers of his left hand bandaged and looking no worse for the wear. This followed a pattern for the 22-year-old star. He has become known for suffering injuries that, at first glance, appear very serious. But after a quick trip to the locker room, he returns to play with few signs that he was ever hurt.

“He’s Wolverine,” Edwards’ business manager Justin Holland has said. – Krawczynski

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Could a performance like this vault Edwards into the All-NBA First Team conversation? Four of the spots look fairly assured, with Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all big favorites for honours.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum will surely receive heavy consideration for the fifth and final spot, given that he is the best player on the Boston Celtics, the team that has been by far the best this season. But if Edwards continues to put together games like this to keep the Timberwolves in contention for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with Towns and Gobert out, he’ll make a compelling case.

He is making a great effort to achieve this. In the previous 14 games, he averaged 29.1 points and 5.8 rebounds. He averaged 31 points and 7.2 rebounds in the five games Towns missed before beating Utah. That has the Wolves (47-21) tied with Denver for second place in the West, just a half-game behind Oklahoma City. – Krawczynski

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(Photo: Alex Goodlett/Getty)

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