High-scoring Anthony Edwards, Wolves on quest to silence Jazz

Anthony Edwards is playing the best basketball of his NBA career. Now the Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to make it pay off when they travel to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

Edwards, 24, posted a career-high 55 points in a 126-123 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. He churned out 26 points in the fourth quarter, going 5-of-7 from 3-point range in the final frame.

His scoring outburst rallied Minnesota from a 25-point halftime deficit. San Antonio went up 69-44 going into the locker room after scoring 48 second-quarter points -- the most the Spurs had scored in any quarter since 1987.

Edwards dueled Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, who finished with 39 points and nine rebounds to help deal the Timberwolves their second straight loss. Wembanyama scored 20 points in the second quarter.

"I loved it," Edwards told the San Antonio Express-News after the game. "I wish we could have just moved everybody out of the way and just checked up -- me versus him."

Overall, Edwards is averaging a career-high 29.6 points per game this season. He is shooting career bests of 50.4% from the field and a 41.8% from 3-point range.

That level of production still wasn't enough to help Edwards earn a nod as a starter for next month's NBA All-Star Game. If he is motivated to make a statement on Tuesday, that could spell trouble for a Utah team that has struggled to defend him.

The Jazz, like Minnesota, are trying to bounce back from a loss to San Antonio fueled by a dominant performance from Wembanyama.

Utah fell to the Spurs 123-110 on Monday afternoon, out a five-game road trip with four straight losses. Wembanyama lit up the Jazz for 33 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, knocking down seven 3-pointers.

Keyonte George led Utah with 30 points while Jusuf Nurkic added 20. The duo combined for 11 assists. Outside of George and Nurkic, the Jazz lacked a consistent offensive punch with Lauri Markkanen sidelined because of an undisclosed illness. But Utah coach Will Hardy said he liked the overall effort from his players.

"I think our team continues to show a willingness to share the ball and play as a team," Hardy said on KJZZ-TV following the game. "I felt like there were way more positive takeaways from tonight's game than negatives."

An inability to get stops on defense has been a much bigger issue as the calendar has turned to 2026. In nine of Utah's past 12 games, the Jazz have allowed at least 123 points -- a stretch in which the Jazz are 2-10.

Tuesday will mark the third meeting between Minnesota and Utah this season. The Timberwolves won the first two matchups, 137-97 in Minneapolis and 120-113 in Salt Lake City over a four-day span in November.

Edwards averaged 36.0 points and six made 3-pointers in the two contests.

--Field Level Media