Wolves’ Anthony Edwards is ejected from loss to Lakers, and he’ll likely be suspended

LOS ANGELES – Anthony Edwards had been flirting with danger in his communication with officials all season, and he had piled up 14 technical fouls before Thursday’s game against the Lakers. He was two away from an automatic one-game suspension.

Edwards eliminated the drama over whether he’d hit that threshold by picking up two in the Timberwolves’ 111-102 loss to the Lakers. Now, he will be suspended for Friday’s game against Utah, unless the league rescinds one of the technicals on review. He will face a one-game suspension for every two technicals the rest of the season before the counter resets in the playoffs.

“He’s got to be better,” coach Chris Finch said. “He’s had too many outbursts. I think a lot of them are deserved. They’re gonna miss some calls from time to time for sure, so he’s got to be better, and we’ve been talking to him about it. So it’s on him.”

Edwards exited the game at the 5-minute, 20-second mark of the third quarter with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Wolves never led all game after they dug a 23-point hole in the first half before cutting it as close as three late in the fourth quarter. But the Lakers held a parade to the free-throw line down the stretch (46 free throws overall, 23 in the fourth quarter) that kept the Wolves from coming all the way back. LeBron James had 33 while Luka Doncic had 21.

Point guard Mike Conley (10 points) said Edwards apologized to the team after the game.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who get emotional when things don’t go the right way, individually, and it can hurt our team as a whole,” Conley said. “We have to be better. Ant has to be better, he knows that.

“He knows he’s got to be better for us, and all of us down the line. … Anybody else who’s dealing with whatever they’re dealing with on the court, you have to set it aside and find a way to stick together right now.”

Edwards picked up his first technical foul after the first quarter, when he and former Wolves forward Jarred Vanderbilt got into an exchange at midcourt. Edwards shoved Vanderbilt in the back, leading to a short confrontation, and both received technicals on review.

Then in the third quarter, Edwards fell after driving on Gabe Vincent, whose left leg hit Edwards in the back of the knee. As he was on the ground, he appeared to complain to the officials, and referee Brent Barnaky issued the technical. Edwards tossed the ball into the crowd as he left the floor, and that drew a delay-of-game warning.

Crew chief James Williams said Edwards was issued the second technical for “directing profanity towards the game official,” according to a pool report. Williams also said the fact Edwards already had one technical was taken into account when Barnaky issued the second technical.

Naz Reid, who had just three points on 1-for-10 shooting, picked up a technical of his own with the Wolves down four with 6:10 to play.

“The mental discipline, we know we’ve talked about it, we have to get better at it as a unit,” said Donte DiVincenzo, who played in his first game since a toe injury sidelined him Jan. 15. “But those guys know that in a game like that, that can’t happen. So moving forward, we address it, we move forward and collectively, it’s everybody. They just got the techs, but everybody was upset about different calls and we know that every night we’re not going to get the whistle.”

BOXSCORE: Lakers 111, Wolves 102

NBA standings

The Wolves did plenty of complaining, especially in the fourth quarter as their comeback bid fell short. Rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. led them back with 25 points off the bench with his relentless attacking on offense. The Wolves cut the Lakers' lead to three with a 13-1 run. But they couldn’t get enough stops since they couldn’t stop fouling.

“Don’t try to bait me about officiating,” Finch said. “It is what it is on a nightly basis.”

The Wolves’ schedule eases the rest of the season; according to Tankathon.com, the Wolves have the second-easiest schedule by opponent win percentage the rest of the way. But they lost another game in part by losing their cool. Now, pending league review of the technicals, they will be without their leading scorer for a winnable game against the Jazz on Friday at a time when they need to begin piling up wins.

“A lot of teams are fighting right now, fighting for position, for playoff spots,” Conley said. “We can’t let small things get in the way of what we’re trying to do right now.”

DiVincenzo played 23 minutes in his return from a left great toe sprain and scored nine points. He will play in the second game of the back-to-back in Utah, but his minutes will be restricted, Finch said.

“I felt like the longer I played, the better I felt,” DiVincenzo said. “It’s been a long time since I played. I don’t feel any tiredness. I feel fine. I don’t feel like I missed a beat.”