Anthony Edwards led the Minnesota Timberwolves to an impressive win over the #1 seed in the West – the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite grabbing a huge 107-101 victory, Edwards made sure to call out the referees for their subpar officiating throughout the contest. The Wolves guard was aware of the fine coming his way, yet went on to criticise Mark Lindsay, Karl Lane, and Matt Myers.
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As soon as the thriller contest between the top two teams of the Western Conference came to an end, Anthony Edwards was heard accusing the officials of cheating. While dapping up teammate Rudy Gobert, Ant didn’t mince his words while screaming, “cheating a** refs.”
During the postgame interview, the 22-year-old brought up the same topic once again. When talking to Lea B. Olsen, Ant-Man was crystal clear that he wasn’t a huge fan of the level of officiating. Further, he was surprised that the Timberwolves managed to grab the win, despite the calls going against them.
“I’mma take the fine, ’cause the refs did not give us no calls tonight. We had to play through every bump, every grab. I don’t know how we won tonight,” Edwards claimed.
Edwards’ complaints seem justified. The combo guard was hit twice, but the officials didn’t call the foul. During the first half of the bout, while trying to dunk on Chet Holmgren, the All-Star was fouled. Instead of Edwards making a trip to the charity stripe, Holmgren was awarded with the block.
Later, during the dying minutes of the contest, the high-flying guard seemed to have been fouled by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Clearly, he was not happy with the no-call as he was dramatically questioning the no-call.
The clear free throw disparity seems to be upsetting Anthony Edwards. For, Edwards merely attempted 4 shots from the charity stripe. Whereas, the Thunder’s star guard SGA took 16 attempts from the free throw line.
Despite Chris Finch’s boys attempting 7 fewer free throws, they managed to clinch a huge win. While Edwards (27 points) played a huge role in tonight’s win, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert also had notable contributions, recording a 21-point double-double and a 12-point double-double, respectively.
Anthony Edwards called out the officials previously as well
Anthony Edwards is known for wearing his heart on his sleeves. He doesn’t shy away from calling out referees whenever he seems fit. During the previous Oklahoma City Thunder-Minnesota Timberwolves contest on 20th January, Edwards subtly taunted the officiating.
Shedding light on the fact that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 13 attempts from the free throw line, the youngster claimed that SGA was being awarded foul calls that other players weren’t provided with. During the postgame conference, Edwards implied that it would be difficult to win games if the opponents were getting an unfair advantage.
“It’s hard to with the calls that Shai gets. It’s hard to shut them down. You can’t touch him any time of the game. It’s super hard to beat,” Edwards said.
Edwards wasn’t wrong with his statement as Shai does get superstar treatment. This campaign, following Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Doncic, SGA is fourth in the league with 9.2 free throws attempted per game. On the other hand, Anthony Edwards only attempts 6.7 free throws per game.
