Anthony Edwards scores 36, Wolves tie series

Minnesota’s season looked like it was tilting the wrong way. San Antonio had taken control of the series, Victor Wembanyama was again warping the game, and the Timberwolves were staring at a 3-1 hole. Then Game 4 flipped. Anthony Edwards detonated in the fourth quarter, the Wolves beat the Spurs 114-109 on Sunday, May 10, and the series is suddenly even again at 2-2. ### What actually changed in Game 4? The simple answer is Edwards took over late. He scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and carried Minnesota through the part of the game where stars usually decide everything. He finished with 36 points on 13-for-22 shooting, hit 3 of 5 from deep, and played 40 minutes in a game the Wolves basically had to have. (nba.com) ### Why was Wembanyama’s ejection such a big deal? Because it changed the geometry of the game. Wembanyama was tossed early in the second quarter after a flagrant-two elbow to Naz Reid, and that removed San Antonio’s biggest matchup advantage on both ends. Against the Spurs, Minnesota usually has to solve the Wembanyama problem on every possession — the rim protection, the length, the bailout offense. Suddenly that piece was gone. (nba.com) ### So did Minnesota just win because Wemby left? Not quite. The Wolves still had to cash in, and for a while they almost didn’t. San Antonio stayed alive behind the rest of its rotation, and Minnesota trailed by as many as eight with about nine minutes left in the fourth before closing hard. That’s the part that matters — the Wolves didn’t inherit the win, they still had to go grab it. (nba.com) ### What did Edwards do late? He played like the best athlete on the floor and the calmest scorer in the building at the same time. The detail that jumps out is efficiency — 16 points in the fourth, 6-for-8 shooting in the period. That’s not random heat-check stuff. That’s a star reading matchups, getting to spots, and refusing to let the season bend any further. (fox9.com) ### Who else mattered for Minnesota? Rudy Gobert gave them the steady stuff — 11 points and 13 rebounds. Naz Reid added 15 points and nine boards off the bench, which mattered even more after he became the player at the center of the Wembanyama ejection. Minnesota needed Edwards for the headline, but it also needed size, second chances, and enough composure to survive the weirdness of the game. (nba.com) ### Why does 2-2 feel so different from 2-1? Because playoff series are really about leverage. Down 2-1, Minnesota was one bad night from the edge. At 2-2, the whole thing resets into a best-of-three, and Game 5 moves back to San Antonio on Tuesday, May 12. That doesn’t erase the Spurs’ advantages, but it does hand Minnesota its path back. (nba.com) ### What’s the real takeaway now? Edwards reminded everyone what the Wolves look like when he owns the biggest moments. But the catch is this series still runs through San Antonio’s ceiling, and that ceiling rises a lot if Wembanyama is on the floor and available for full games. Game 4 changed the pressure. It did not end the problem. (nba.com) ### Bottom line? Minnesota didn’t just survive Sunday — it dragged the series back to neutral. Edwards supplied the rescue, Wembanyama’s ejection changed the conditions, and now Game 5 will decide who actually controls this matchup. (nba.com)