After the Timberwolves defeated Boston 114-109 in overtime Monday, Anthony Edwards was asked a few different questions: what enabled the Wolves to come through in the clutch, why was the defense so effective tonight? His answer to each of those was, “Jaden McDaniels.”
“You might think I’m trying to be funny, but Jaden McDaniels,” Edwards said. “I’m not really trying to be funny. Show me a clip where he got scored on in a one-on-one situation. They [put him in isolation] maybe like 10 times in the fourth and nobody scored on him. So he was the reason we won the game. He hit three, four big shots in the fourth, two in overtime. We don’t win that game if he’s not playing.”
Monday was turbulent at first for McDaniels on the offensive end of the floor. He missed eight of his first nine shots as Boston essentially gave him room to shoot. His final miss of that stretch was the cruelest. He missed a wide open layup he probably should have dunked. Rudy Gobert saved the possession with a putback, but McDaniels was in disbelief he couldn’t hit a shot.
But Edwards didn’t lose confidence in McDaniels, and neither did McDaniels. Just 21 seconds later, McDaniels drilled a three from the right corner on a pass from Edwards. Edwards began clapping in celebration at McDaniels.
“When I start off cold they keep feeding me, so it shouldn’t change with him,” Edwards said. “He’s one of the best players on the team.”
That moment foreshadowed one of the most important moments of the game in the fourth quarter. The Wolves trailed 101-98, and Edwards drew a crowd in the paint. He managed to get a pass off to a wide open McDaniels, who was again in the right corner. He buried the shot ttie game and the final score of regulation with 1 minute, 40 seconds to play.
He then clinched the game with a midrange jumper in overtime to make it 114-109 with 16.1 seconds remaining. He finished the game 8-for-18 with 20 points.
McDaniels gave a lot of credit to teammates for helping him get over his early shooting struggles.
“They all see what’s going on. They always are here cheering me up or giving me courage throughout the game,” McDaniels said. “If I didn’t have them, I probably wouldn’t have had the game I had today. I just appreciate them all being there.”
This was an important game for McDaniels, who is prone to letting frustration get the best of him on the floor at times. But he didn’t let his offense carry over to his defense. He was stifling at that end of the floor.
“I just know defense is my No. 1 thing,” McDaniels said. “That’s what I’m going to be great at. Just continue to do what I’m best at. I can’t let missing shots affect that.”
For coach Chris Finch, McDaniels’ night was a step in the right direction. Now, McDaniels has to carry that over.
“This is the maturity that we need in all of our players,” Finch said. “But you got to keep doing these things. One time can be an accident. Two times can be a coincidence. You do it three times and it’s probably a habit. We gotta get to three times, four times, five times and every time. Then it’s part of the long-term growth.”
Another player who didn’t let his defense suffer because of missed shots was Gobert. Even though he shot 2-for-11 from the free-throw line, which included the Celtics intentionally fouling him toward the end of regulation, Gobert was a deterrent on the defensive end. The Wolves were plus-24 in the minutes Gobert played Monday.
One of the skills Gobert has shown this season is his ability to guard players on the perimeter. That helped in matching up against Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis, who had 20 points but was just 5-for-14 from the field.
“He was always pretty good guarding around the perimeter. But I think this year, he looks better that ever, honestly, at doing that,” guard Mike Conley said. “Really contesting, really sliding his feet, really staying in front of guys. It’s to the point now where when he’s got the guy one-on-one, let’s try to match up to our guys and try not to overhelp, because he’s doing such a good job of forcing tough shots and letting us get out on the offensive end.”
Gobert has said he is trying his best to be “unpredictable” on defense, and because he is feeling as good physically as he ever has, it’s working.
“Sometimes, bigs don’t expect me to come and pressure them so far away from the basket,” Gobert said. “And even if they attack me, I know that I’m going to be able to make a play and probably block the shot. I try to push myself even more to make them uncomfortable.”