DETROIT — The Pistons overcame Anthony Edwards‘ career-high 53 points to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-105 on Saturday night.
Edwards’ previous career high was 51 points against the Washington Wizards on April 9 last season. His 3-pointer with 9:25 remaining tied his career best but he didn’t score again until 22 seconds remained.
Edwards made 10 3-pointers and was 16-for-31 shooting from the field.
Cade Cunningham scored a season-high 40 points as the Pistons won their third straight and sixth in their past seven games.
Edwards had been held to 20 or fewer points in eight of the previous 14 games. His previous season high was 37 points against Portland on Nov. 8.
Edwards became the second player in Timberwolves history with multiple 50-point games, joining Karl-Anthony Towns, who had three, according to ESPN Research. Edwards’ 53 points are the second most in a loss in Timberwolves history.
Edwards became the first player in Timberwolves history to score 50% of the team’s points in a game. He’s also the second player in the NBA to do it this season (LaMelo Ball, on Nov. 25 against the Magic).
A Western Conference finalist last season, the Timberwolves appeared to be heating up with three straight victories late last month. They’ve now lost three in a row to drop back to the .500 mark (17-17).
Edwards declined to speak to reporters after the game.
In response to a question about his starting lineup, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch replied, “You guys ask me this question all the time.
“If I felt that the magic bullet was changing the starting lineup, I would’ve done that already.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.