After a more than inspiring Game One victory against the Spurs, Anthony Edwards warned his team that they couldn't come out flat in Game Two.

The team didn't seem to heed those words, as Minnesota took one on the chin on Wednesday Night in San Antonio.

Per ESPN.com:

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"The natural tendency for teams that steal the first game, the away team, they get blown out in Game 2," Edwards said of his message. "We can't come out cool."

In an eventual 133-95 blowout loss to the recharged San Antonio Spurs, the Timberwolves scored only 17 first-quarter points, 18 second-quarter points, turned the ball over 22 times, fell behind 24 at the half and spiraled into a 47-point hole, sending the Western Conference semifinals series back to Minneapolis tied at 1.

"We came out cool," Edwards said. "Look what happened. My momma used to tell me that a hard head make a soft ass. That's what happened tonight."

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was even harsher in his assessment, telling his team after the 38-point blowout that "we just got punked."

"Punked is crazy," Edwards said. "But, I mean, just look at the film and see what we can gain from it."

The film will reveal a desperate and physical Spurs team, pressuring the Timberwolves full court, attacking their dribble and deploying selective double-teams on Edwards when he crossed half court, getting the ball out of his hands and disrupting his rhythm.

"They was playing crazy, right?" Edwards said of the Spurs' extra attention. "Watch film, find the holes in it. We didn't make enough shots to get them out of it."

Finch said he didn't like how Edwards and the team's variety of other playmakers responded to the overload scheme and amped up pressure.

"Got to get off of it," Finch said. "Got to use it as a catalyst for ball movement, what it should be. I thought we dribbled to tough spots. I thought we were late getting off it. I thought our spacing around it wasn't really good."

The Timberwolves made only nine of their 30 3-pointers, unable to punish the Spurs when they did generate a decent look. They missed 26 of their 44 shots in the paint, struggling to finish against Victor Wembanyama. They turned it over 22 times, too often getting too loose with the ball against a swarm of active defenders.

"We got to go somewhere [with the basketball]," Finch said. "We are kind of dribbling and going nowhere."

Asked about the "dribbling to nowhere" comment, Edwards said: "I don't know. I got to watch the film. But he's the head coach. I'm with whatever he says. So if that's what he said, that's what we were doing."

This has been a common critique of the Timberwolves' offense from Finch during their roughest patches this season. Some of their best scorers -- Edwards, Julius Randle, younger reserves such as Bones Hyland and Terrence Shannon Jr. -- can tend to revert into more of a stagnant isolation style.

In Game 1, Edwards logged 25 minutes only nine days after a badly hyperextended left knee and bone bruise, coming in off the bench to manage his workload. In Game 2, he finished at 24 minutes but was on track for significantly more before sitting out the fourth quarter of a blowout loss.

So it appears Edwards -- who said his knee "feels good" -- is ready to step back into a normal workload as the series shifts to Minnesota and the pressure on the Timberwolves increases.

"That's not up to me," Edwards said of a desired return to the starting lineup. "If it's required. Whatever's required."

The Timberwolves stunned the 62-win Spurs in the opener. San Antonio punched back powerfully in Game 2.

"They won by 40," Edwards said. "I would have a lot of belief. ... I tip my hat to those guys. They came out, they played hard, they were the more desperate team, they wanted it. We'll see where it goes from here."

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Game Three from Minneapolis is set for Friday Night. Tip off will be at 8:30 on Prime Video.

Source: Wolves fail to heed Edwards' warning, come out 'cool' in rout - ESPN