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Jamal CollierESPN
CHICAGO — Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards was helped off the court after suffering a right ankle injury during the first quarter of Friday night’s 139-131 loss to the Chicago Bulls in double overtime.
Edwards landed awkwardly and collapsed to the floor after leaving his feet to deliver a pass to Mike Conley for a 3-pointer with 4:01 remaining in the quarter. Edwards screamed in pain and immediately began grabbing his right ankle after the play and didn’t put any weight on the leg as a team trainer and injured teammate Karl-Anthony Towns helped carry him toward the locker room.
The Timberwolves announced at halftime that Edwards would not return to the game, but he rejoined the team near the end of the fourth quarter to cheer the team on from the bench while wearing a protective boot.
Neither Edwards nor Timberwolves coach Chris Finch provided any clarity on the severity of Edward’s injury after the game, but Edwards said he was feeling OK and was hopeful he would not be sidelined for long.
“I couldn’t walk on it, so I knew it was a wrap,” Edwards said after the game. “See how it feels tomorrow.”
Minnesota drops to 35-36 and the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference following Friday’s loss as the Wolves fight for their spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
Edwards played eight minutes on Friday night and went 3-of-4 from the field for eight points and an assist before leaving the game with an injury. He has played in all 71 games this season for Minnesota, the only player on the team to do so.
The Wolves are already without star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, who has been out since Nov. 28 with a calf injury. The team announced earlier this week Towns is expected to return in the coming weeks. Now in his third season in the NBA, Edwards, the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, made the All-Star team for the first time in his career in 2022-23. He is averaging 25 points, six rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 46% from the field, all of which are career highs.
“We know that no one’s going to help us,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said about the possibility of playing without Edwards. “We all we got. So we’ve just got to go out there, keep putting in the work, keep enjoying it and just learn from this situation. Win a game when we’re in position to win a game.”
Source: www.espn.com