Timberwolves roll over Brooklyn Nets but lose Anthony Edwards for Sunday’s regular-season finale

On Feb. 28, Anthony Edwards missed a game against the Jazz because he was serving a one-game suspension for reaching the NBA’s technical foul limit of 16, and the Wolves lost that night by one point.

The Wolves had no trouble beating the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, 117-91, but they likely will have to face the Jazz in a must-win game Sunday to guarantee themselves a playoff spot without Edwards.

Edwards is facing another suspension because he picked up a technical foul with 6 minutes, 29 seconds remaining in the second quarter after he committed a foul against Brooklyn’s Keon Johnson on the left wing. Edwards argued the call with official Ray Acosta and was called for a technical foul. Under league rules, players receive an additional one-game suspension for every second technical they accrue past 16. Edwards had already received another technical March 30 against Detroit. The league could rescind the technical upon review of the incident. Edwards and coach Chris Finch were making their best campaign pitches for the league to do that in their postgame comments Friday.

Edwards admitted to using profanity when asking Acosta about the foul.

“I’m praying they rescind it,” Edwards said. “I don’t feel like it should’ve been a tech, but me and Ray got a good relationship. We talked it out after the fact. But I don’t think I deserved a tech for just that little gesture.”

That’s in the league’s hands now. Crew chief Bill Kennedy, in the pool report, said Edwards (nine points, five assists) was issued the technical for directing profanity at a game official. Edwards had been upset at some calls earlier in the night, and in the first quarter he appeared close to drawing a technical. Finch said he spoke to Edwards then.

“I thought he was clearly fouled on an and-one that they missed in the first minutes of the game,” Finch said. “I thought he had a right to be a little bit upset with that. I talked to him at that point in time, just leave it go, leave it go.”

But he didn’t. In the second quarter, the officials had called some fouls on the Wolves on the perimeter — Nickeil Alexander-Walker picked up three in the second quarter alone — and Edwards got caught in those whistles on the play with Johnson.

“I didn’t think that there was a lot there, and thought Ant actually may have had his hands in,” Finch said. “He was moving his feet, beat him to the spot. I thought that was a unfortunate whistle. So I don’t know the specifics that were said. I don’t think it was anything overly offensive, certainly didn’t think it warranted a technical.”

Now the Wolves wait on the league.

Julius Randle followed up his 31 points from Thursday’s win over Memphis with another 21 on Friday. The Wolves took care of business against an undermanned Nets team by feeding Rudy Gobert in the post. Gobert tied a career high with 35 points and also had 11 rebounds, and he continued his recent insistence that the Wolves not lose to bad teams.

BOXSCORE: Wolves 117, Brooklyn 91

NBA standings

“I know how sometimes in this league it can be a challenge for us,” Gobert said, noting the Wolves’ inconsistencies against weak teams. “And I know that my approach for me to set the tone on both ends puts us in great position to be successful.”

He may need to do that again Sunday, as the Wolves will be trying to secure the No. 6 seed or higher with a win, and they may have to do so without Edwards.

“Hopefully they can appeal it,” Gobert said. “… I don’t think he said anything deserving a technical foul, so we’ll try to see if he can appeal it, and if not, everyone’s going to have to step up.”