DETROIT – Anthony Edwards told the media to pause a moment before they asked him questions following the Timberwolves' 128-117 win over Detroit. He had his reasons. He was finishing a mobile McDonald's order on his phone of McChickens from the $1 menu.
"Cheap dude," Edwards said, before realizing he's not exactly thrifty. "I ain't even going to say cheap dude, because I like cars and jewelry. But yeah, cheap dude."
Edwards earned the extra caloric intake in part because he didn't stop attacking the rim in scoring 25 points. He didn't earn it because of his defensive play.
"Our defense wasn't there at all," Edwards said. "We let this team score way too much and way too easy. Even myself, a couple times I let guys go right past me and that's not like me."
That summed up the Wolves' defensive effort against the lowly Pistons, but the Wolves still came away with their third consecutive victory. They had too much firepower offensively even without D'Angelo Russell (left shin contusion) for the fourth consecutive game, and even on a night they allowed the league's second-worst offense to hit shots and have the lead through most of the third quarter.
But late in the third, the Wolves turned it on and their bench sprinted past Detroit thanks in part to 23 points from the scorching-hot Taurean Prince and 18 from Malik Beasley. The bench helped build a 16-point lead in the fourth.
"Our second unit in the third gave us a big enough gap," Edwards said. "Because we [the starters] came out and stunk it up in the fourth."
They didn't stink it up enough to ruin the night. The Pistons closed within five multiple times, including 122-117 with 1 minute, 35 seconds remaining. After Karl-Anthony Towns missed a three-pointer, he made up for it on the other end with two blocks, one each on Saddiq Bey (21 points) and Jerami Grant (20 points). That increased defensive presence this season, coupled with Towns' 21 points and 14 rebounds, was an illustration why he was named an All-Star Game selection for the third time right around tipoff.