Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Picture: Carmen Mandato Source: Getty Images The 21-year-old said post-game he wanted to “put on a show” for his girlfriend, who’s about to head overseas. He was then asked to rate his dunks post-game.
Edwards said his first one “was alright, I could’ve gotten a little higher”, before lauding his second effort.
“This one was pretty nice, I like this one. I like that one a lot,” he said.
Edwards was then asked by reporters post-game about his ability to jump over 211cm Sengun.
“He (Sengun) was just deep the whole night, so I told Kenyon Martin Jr. coming out of half-time, ‘I’m going to dunk on him again because he’s so far down the floor’. And it happened again,” he said.
“But all praise to, I don’t know how to pronounce his name, No. 28 Sengun – he good, man. He good.”
Minnesota coach Chris Finch said Edwards brought “a ton of energy” to the floor.
Doncic shines again in Mavs victory | 01:18
“We had talked about how important this game was for us and how he needed to set the tone. He certainly did that,” Finch told reporters.
“He was special, both ends of the floor really, but of course offensively. Everything was very, very sure. His decision-making was sharp, he was shooting it, he was driving it, he was making all the right plays out there.”
DEPLETED CELTICS EDGE CLAIM NINTH STRAIGHT WIN
The Boston Celtics shook off the absence of injured Jayson Tatum and the early departures of Marcus Smart and Robert Williams to beat the Toronto Raptors 106-104 and push their NBA winning streak to nine games.
Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and Grant Williams added a career-high 25 for the Celtics, who improved their league-best record to 35-12.
Coming off a gritty overtime win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, the Celtics trailed 85-81 going into the fourth quarter.
But they opened the final frame with a 9-0 run courtesy of three-pointers from Brown, Payton Pritchard and Grant Williams and stayed in front until Toronto tied it up at 103-103 on Gary Trent Jr.’s three-pointer with 2:23 to play.
Pritchard, who scored all of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, drained another three-pointer that proved to be enough.
Malcolm Brogdon added 23 points off the bench for Boston, whose top scorer Tatum was sidelined with a sore left wrist.
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics goes to the net against Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors. Picture: Cole Burston Source: Getty Images Grant Williams said Tatum’s absence was no reason for the Celtics to surrender the mindset of an elite team gunning to get back to the NBA Finals for a second straight year after falling to Golden State in the title series.
“You can’t back down from any challenge, no matter if you’re down 12 guys, no matter if you’re down four, no matter if you’re down two, no matter if you’re a full team,” he said. “You have to do your job.”
Smart rolled his right ankle in the second quarter and left the game while Robert Williams hurt his left knee, stayed in the game briefly but sat out the second half.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Williams’s injury was “nothing serious” and Smart had a sprained ankle.
“X-rays were negative,” he said of Smart, who had to be helped off the court. “So it’s just a matter of how he’s able to cope with it day to day.”
MOBLEY PROPELS CAVS
In Cleveland, Evan Mobley made sure the Cavaliers didn’t make the same mistake twice, scoring a career-high 38 points in a 114-102 victory over a Milwaukee Bucks team missing two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
A day earlier, the Cavs let a Golden State team missing star shooter Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green get past them, with coach J.B. Bickerstaff saying his team “got what we deserved” after taking the depleted Warriors too lightly.
On Sunday (AEDT), second-year forward Mobley was laser-focused, connecting on 19 of 27 shots from the field and grabbing nine rebounds.
Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Picture: Jason Miller Source: FOX SPORTS Mobley scored 14 points in the fourth quarter alone. Darius Garland added 21 points and 10 assists and Caris LeVert, starting in place of the Cavs’ injured top scorer Donovan Mitchell, added 13 points.
Milwaukee led by Jrue Holiday’s 28 points, trailed much of the contest but managed to edge ahead twice early in the fourth quarter before Cleveland closed the door.
“We were just trying to defend our home, show up for the entire game,” Mobley, 21, told Bally Sports Cleveland in an on-court interview.
ELSEWHERE …
Elsewhere the lowly Charlotte Hornets claimed back-to-back games for just the second time this season as they eked out a 122-118 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta.
The Hornets, down by 16 at half-time and by as many as 19 in the third quarter, rallied to snap the Hawks’ five-game winning streak.
Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 34 points, including three free throws with 1.1 seconds left, to give the Hornets a 120-118 lead.
After Atlanta failed to inbound the ball after a time-out, Rozier drained another pair of free throws.
— with AFP
NBA SCORES TODAY
BOSTON CELTICS 106 — Toronto Raptors 104
Orlando Magic 118 — WASHINGTON WIZARDS 138
CHARLOTTE HORNETS 122 — Atlanta Hawks 118
Milwaukee Bucks 102 — CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 114
Houston Rockets 104 — MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES 113
Indiana Pacers 107 — PHOENIX SUNS 112
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 129 — Sacramento Kings 127
