Anthony Edwards had a respectful take regarding Kobe Bryant after surpassing one of the late NBA legend's feats in the Minnesota Timberwolves' 131-122 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Edwards is going through his sixth season in the league with the Timberwolves. He continues to improve as one of the top stars, expanding his skillset as an aggressive scorer while staying healthy.
Going into Minnesota's matchup against Cleveland, Edwards scored 9,977 points throughout his career so far. He needed 23 points to reach the milestone of 10,000 points, emphasizing the significance with how young he is to accomplish it.
Safe to say that Edwards made NBA history in convincing fashion. In 37 minutes of action, he finished with a stat line of 25 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, one steal, and a block. He shot 10-of-20 from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line.
This allowed Edwards to become the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach 10,000 points at 24 years and 156 days old. He did it quicker than Bryant, who pulled it off at 24 years and 194 days old. The only players above Edwards are Kevin Durant and LeBron James.
Edwards reflected on the milestone after the game, per reporter Jon Krawczynski. He personally felt sick about the fact that he took the record from Bryant, showing his immense respect for one of his basketball idols growing up.
“I'm kind of sick that I got it from Kobe. I wish I would have waited like 100 days or something. But it's all good,” Edwards said.
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How Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves played against Cavaliers
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Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) defends against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) in the fourth quarter at Target Center.
Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
Anthony Edwards may hold plenty of respect for Kobe Bryant, but he certainly needed to be aggressive in the Timberwolves' win over the Cavaliers.
Both teams traded blows throughout the first half as Cleveland only led 67-63 at halftime. Minnesota exploded with a 43-22 outburst in the third quarter, taking full control of the game and never looking back.
Five players scored in double-digits for Minnesota in the win, including Edwards. Julius Randle led the team with a stat line of 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. He shot 10-of-21 overall, including 3-of-7 from downtown, and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Jaden McDaniels came next with 26 points and five rebounds, Donte DiVincenzo had 22 points and four assists, while Rudy Gobert provided 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Minnesota improved to a 25-13 record on the season, holding the fourth spot in the Western Conference standings. They are 0.5 games above the Los Angeles Lakers and one game above the Houston Rockets while trailing the Denver Nuggets by 0.5 games and San Antonio Spurs by 1.5 games.
Rolling with four consecutive wins, the Timberwolves will look forward to their next matchup. They be on the road when they have a rematch against the Cavaliers on Jan. 10 at 1 p.m. ET.