Souhan: Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards shoves LeBron James while pushing Lakers to a precipice

Anthony Edwards grew up idolizing Kevin Durant. Last year, in the first round of the playoffs, he and the Timberwolves swept Durant and the Phoenix Suns.

Edwards spent much of the Paris Olympics befriending and studying LeBron James, whom he now describes as a “big brother.” Today, Edwards and the Wolves are 48 minutes away from a gentleman’s sweep of LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers.

If Edwards has your poster on his wall, he might not be worshipping you. He might be plotting your destruction.

After Edwards’ dominating performance in the Wolves’ 116-113 victory over the Lakers on Sunday at Target Center, the Wolves lead the series 3-1 and Edwards is one game away from taking down another two stars.

Last year, he and the Wolves swept Durant and Devin Booker, then beat the defending champion Denver Nuggets of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray before losing to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals.

Now Edwards is trying to take down Doncic and James, and his approach has been anything but diplomatic.

In Game 3, Edwards and James laughed together on the court during a timeout.

In Game 4, Edwards shoved James in the chest, then wrestled with him, drawing a foul that might have seemed silly if not for the intent behind it.

“It’s gonna be physical, man,” Edwards said. “I’m gonna say I was trying to make a point, but … just let him know that we’re here. You ain’t just gonna push us around all night. … I’m gonna try to get under his skin. We played together for Team USA. He was like a big brother to me. He looked out for me, helped me out a lot, reading the game and IQ and everything. I’m just trying to be a pest out there."

The pest is doing the exterminating. On Sunday, Edwards produced 43 points, nine rebounds, six assists and only one turnover, turning Target Center into a cauldron of noise.

His poise and decision-making — not words associated with him in late-game situations most of this season — have helped the Wolves dominate the Lakers in the past two fourth quarters.

On Friday, the Wolves outscored the Lakers 30-20 in the fourth. On Sunday, they outscored the Lakers 32-19 after trailing by 10.

In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Edwards made two three-pointers. He scored 11 points in the first 4:17 of the fourth quarter, cutting the Lakers’ lead to four.

He would assist on the Wolves’ next basket and hit three free throws to give the Wolves a 105-104 lead with 3:47 left.

He found Donte DiVincenzo for a layup with 2:11 left and drew a foul on James and made both free throws to put the Wolves up three with 10.1 seconds remaining.

This was a master class by a player who looked in dire need of a classroom for much of this season.

Through four games of this series, Edwards has 23 assists and six turnovers. In rough figures, he is producing almost four assists per turnover in these playoffs. In the regular season, the ratio was about 1½.

He credited Wolves assistant coach Chris Hines for teaching and challenging him.

“He’s a special player, and he had a special [game],” Wolves coach Chris Finch said.

Asked about Edwards’ increased efficiency in the clutch, Finch said: “Obviously, that’s been a battle this season. It’s the composure. I call him a home run hitter, but now he’s hitting way more doubles and singles, and those plays are timely.

“I think he has an understanding of where the defense is going to be when he starts and when he ends. He’s talking to me now, and sharing some of the things he wants and likes to see out there. So we try to manipulate the floor accordingly.”

Edwards’ performance is the stuff of greatness, and the Wolves’ development of Edwards is the essence of coaching.

Earlier this season, Edwards panicked when he saw certain defenses. Now he’s anticipating how to beat them, as if his 23-year-old brain is catching up to his explosive physique.

“These,” Edwards said, “are the moments we should live for.”