MINNEAPOLIS -- As much as the Minnesota Timberwolves' 2-0 deficit in the Western Conference finals showed the gap between them and their opponent -- the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder -- it also was a referendum on each team's superstar.
Through two games, the Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had scored 19 more points than the Wolves' Anthony Edwards and had eight more assists and six more steals. Gilgeous-Alexander looked every bit like the league's 26-year-old MVP, while Edwards appeared to be a 23-year-old phenom with room to grow.
In Saturday's 143-101 Game 3 win in which the sixth-seeded Wolves announced their arrival to the series in grand fashion, Edwards not only outplayed Gilgeous-Alexander.