No energy on the defensive end, on the glass or through extra actions or passes on offense. The end result was the same as it was when Minnesota was torched by Brooklyn in Minneapolis last Saturday, as the Hawks blitzed the Timberwolves, 126-102 in Atlanta in a New Year’s Eve matinee.

MIAMI — It felt like Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves were teetering when they arrived in Miami. Just two days earlier, in Edwards’ hometown of Atlanta, they had delivered a performance so lackluster that he walked off the court before the fourth quarter was even half over.

Anthony Edwards broke the cardinal rule of basketball Wednesday night. The Timberwolves’ superstar guard got up off the bench and hit the showers early after being pulled during a timeout as Minnesota was being blown out during a 126-102 loss to the Hawks.

The Timberwolves star joined Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players to record a similar statline in a closeout game.

Jalen Johnson scored 34 points and the Atlanta Hawks overcame Anthony Edwards’ 30 points for Minnesota to beat the Timberwolves 126-102 and end a seven-game losing streak.

Anthony Edwards ended the calendar year in controversy after he decided to leave the bench in the Minnesota Timberwolves ’ 126-102 blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Minnesota head coach Chris Finch pulled his starters with a little less than eight minutes remaining in the game. At that point, the Wolves were down, 109-80.

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