Wolves takeaways: Alexander-Walker's heroics mask brutal final possessions

"MVP of the game," Edwards said. "He hit big shot after big shot after big shot. At some point, I was like 'let's just give the ball to Nickeil and we all spot up.' He was incredible tonight.

"He was big-time," Julius Randle said.

"He's been so big for us all year," Chris Finch said. "Really, really pleased for him to have a game like this and be able to win it in the way that we were able to win it and he was able to get it for us. He's had a hell of a run with us and this might've been one of his best performances ever."

Alexander-Walker is averaging 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists this season while shooting 39 percent from three for the second year in a row. But the stats don't tell the full story of his impact. He's played in every single game for the Wolves for two consecutive seasons. He's an incredible perimeter defender. And not only does he hit big shots, he always seems to make the right play when the ball finds him on offense.

It'll be fascinating to see if the Wolves are able to keep both Reid and Alexander-Walker this offseason. NAW has earned himself quite the raise.

"I was young in my career when I got to Utah," he said. "Lost. Traded twice in 18 hours, not knowing what the reality of my career was going to be. Especially going into year four, I truly believed this could be my last year. ... I've been down some days. To get here, you definitely gotta celebrate your wins. If you're gonna mourn your losses, you gotta celebrate your wins."

Final possessions must improve

Frankly, the Wolves were fortunate to emerge victorious on Tuesday night. They had opportunities to win the game at the end of regulation and the first overtime, but wound up with a very poor shot both times. Then, at the end of the double OT, they turned the ball over on the critical possession, which would've cost them if Russell Westbrook didn't miss a layup at one end of the floor and foul Alexander-Walker just before the final buzzer at the other.

Chris Finch and the Wolves have to do much, much better on those final, potential game-winning possessions moving forward. It's been an issue all season, with Edwards often taking contested step-back threes in those spots. Ant is 0 for 7 this season on shots to tie or take the lead in the final ten seconds of the fourth quarter or OT (and 1 for 18 in his career). Too frequently, it doesn't look like the Wolves have any real plan on those possessions.

In this game, it wasn't Edwards taking the final shots. The Nuggets were doubling him up high and forcing him to get the ball out of hands. With the game tied at the end of regulation, Ant dribbled for several seconds and then dumped a pass off to Randle, who took a contested side-step three that missed badly. It was again tied in the final seconds of the first OT when Ant again dumped it off to Randle, who swung a pass to Jaden McDaniels for a contested midrange pull-up airball. And finally, down by one late in 2OT, Ant got the ball in the corner — not the top of the key — but he and Randle weren't on the same page, leading to a turnover.

"We knew (the doubles were) coming," Finch said after the game. "We tried to get him in different spots. He knew it was coming, getting off of it, I thought we'd get an advantage. Thought Julius maybe should've just let it fly on the first one, and then he kinda side-stepped. Then the one in the post in double overtime, the slip was gonna be there."

Finch is right that in theory, Edwards passing out of the double in those spots should give the Wolves a 4-on-3 advantage. It just feels like they need more designed action to capitalize on those numbers and not wind up with the non-competitive game-winning attempts they got from Randle and McDaniels.

In the playoffs, a situation like that could certainly present itself again. The Wolves need to learn from this season's poor execution in the biggest moments and be prepared for when that happens.

Recommended articles