Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards will play Sunday after NBA rescinds technical foul

The Timberwolves were hopeful after Friday night’s win over Brooklyn that the technical foul Anthony Edwards received would be rescinded. If it wasn’t, Edwards was set to be suspended for Sunday’s regular-season finale against Utah, a game that carries major playoff implications for the Wolves.

Win and they guarantee themselves a top-six playoff seed. Lose and they’re likely headed for the first part of the play-in tournament.

The Wolves got their wish Saturday, as the NBA announced Edwards’ technical from the second quarter was rescinded and he will be eligible to play Sunday. That comes as a sigh of relief for the Wolves considering Edwards missed a game Feb. 28 against the Jazz because he had reached the league limit of 16 technical fouls. While he served his one-game suspension, the Wolves lost by a point. They also didn’t have the injured Julius Randle or Rudy Gobert in that game.

The league suspends players for every two technical fouls they receive beyond 16, and Edwards had picked another technical March 30 against Detroit.

On Friday, Edwards committed a foul against Brooklyn’s Keon Johnson on the left wing. Edwards argued the call with official Ray Acosta and picked up the technical. After the game, 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.”

Coach Chris Finch had Edwards’ back in his postgame comments and said Edwards had a right to be upset at some missed foul calls against him in the first quarter. Finch believed the officials were making questionable calls on the perimeter during the second quarter. He also didn’t think Edwards deserved the technical.

“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 an 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.”

Ultimately the NBA agreed, and the Wolves will have their best player in their quest to lock up a playoff spot. Technical foul counts will reset for all players in the playoffs.

The Wolves will now have all hands on deck for Sunday’s pivotal matchup against the Jazz, who at 17-64 are tied with Washington for the NBA’s worst record.

The Wolves are seventh in the Western Conference, but they will most likely move up or down from there. If they win, they are guaranteed a top-six seed. That’s because the Los Angeles Clippers (fifth place) and Golden State Warriors (sixth place) play each other, and because somebody has to lose that game it will shake up the tiebreaker scenarios in the West in the Wolves’ favor should they take care of business Sunday.

How the Wolves finish sixth: Beat Utah, Clippers win, Denver beats Houston, which is locked into the No. 2 seed and has nothing to play for Sunday. The Wolves would then face the Los Angeles Lakers, who have locked up the No. 3 seed.

How the Wolves finish fifth: Beat Utah, either the Clippers or Nuggets lose, and the Wolves face whichever team locks up the No. 4 seed.

How the Wolves finish fourth: It’s the most unlikely scenario because Houston might be resting its key players, but it’s still in play. Both Denver and the Clippers would have to lose while the Wolves win. The Wolves would then face the Clippers, who would be the No. 5 seed in this scenario.

What happens if the Wolves lose to Utah: Panic sets in. Just kidding. Kind of. If the Wolves lose, it depends what Memphis does against Dallas, but no matter what the Wolves will play in the play-in tournament.

If the Wolves lose and Memphis loses, the Wolves would finish seventh and play host to the first play-in matchup against the Grizzlies on Tuesday. If the Grizzlies beat Dallas, the Wolves will travel to Memphis for the 7-8 play-in matchup.

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Oklahoma City, Houston and the L.A. Lakers have clinched the top three seeds in the West, and Sacramento and Dallas will play in a play-in elimination game Wednesday. As for the teams in between? They all play at 2:30 p.m. Sunday to end the regular season.

4. Denver 49-32

5. L.A. Clippers 49-32

6. Golden State 48-33

7. Wolves 48-33

8. Memphis 47-34

• Utah at Wolves

• Denver at Houston

• L.A. Clippers at Golden State

• Dallas at Memphis

The Wolves can finish anywhere between fourth and eighth, but the simple part of the equation is this: If the Wolves beat Utah, they will finish in the top six; if the Wolves lose, they will finish seventh or eighth and must win a game in the play-in round to qualify for the playoffs.

Whereas the Western Conference is a jumbled mess with one game left in the NBA regular season, there is nothing left to be decided in the Eastern Conference:

• No. 1 Cleveland will learn its first-round playoff opponent Friday.

• No. 2 Boston will play Orlando or Atlanta in Round 1.

• No. 3 New York will play No. 6 Detroit.

• No. 4 Indiana will play No. 5 Milwaukee.

• In the play-in tournament, Atlanta plays at Orlando on Tuesday to decide the No. 7 seed. Miami plays at Chicago on Wednesday; the winner of that game visits the Atlanta-Orlando loser Friday to determine the No. 8 seed. The playoffs begin Saturday.