Karl-Anthony Towns bounces back, Anthony Edwards erupts for 36 in Minnesota Timberwolves' Game 1 win

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The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Memphis Grizzlies 130-117 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday.

"We did a fabulous job of playing our game, and this was a team win," Towns said. All of us came today with one goal in mind, and that was to win. We played a lot of basketball. We did a lot of small things to win. We should be very proud of our performance.

The No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft scored 36 points to become the third-youngest player with more than 35 points in a playoff game. In one of the more exciting coming-out parties in recent NBA history,Edwards did his damage from all over the court, draining four shots from beyond thearc, making three baskets at the rim, and converting 8 of 8 free throw attempts.

I told my teammate that I treat every game the same.

Towns, who struggled from the field and with foul trouble in Minnesota's play-in victory Tuesday night over the visiting LA Clippers, reversed his fortunes with an efficient 29-point, 13-rebound performance. He scored on 9 of his 11 attempts against Steven Adams. Towns had a choppy effort in Minneapolis.

Towns said he was happy with the performance he had tonight. It shouldn't be celebrated, like, "Oh, you got a chance to play a really good game on a national stage." You should be very proud and excited.

In his postgame comments, Towns emphasized the ability ofEdwards to hit difficult attempts against tight defense. On Saturday, eight of the 12 field goals made byEdwards were challenged by Memphis defenders.

He is not going to get an easy shot, Towns said. One-on-one dribble drives are usually taken away when you are in the playoffs, but he is still finding ways to get there. He is a special talent.

The shot probability was the lowest among the eight players who attempted more than 10 field goals. He had an effective field goal percentage of 56%.

He joked that he was quite satisfied with his diet of shots because of his reputation for taking challenging, sometimes lower-percentage attempts.

I like my shots, whether it is a step-back trey-ball or a step-back midrange or a floater or a layup. I love my shot, but Chris may not like it. I'm trusting myself.

The long-suffering Minnesota franchise trusts Edwards, as he leads them to a 1-0 lead in their quest to win a playoff series for the first time since 2004.

Towns said that he was almost unstoppable when he was playing basketball at this level.