The fragility of contending in the NBA playoffs was illustrated in the hush of the Target Center crowd, in their collective eyes looking at the far end across from the Golden State Warriors bench, across from an NBA legend wearing street clothes instead of a team uniform.

Anthony Edwards had 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals for a Minnesota team that never trailed. In fact, Minnesota jumped out to a 13-0 lead and even led by double digits for the final 40 minutes and 32 seconds of the game.