Souhan: Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards belatedly wake up following skirmish

The proper takeaway after the Timberwolves and Pistons brawled?

It was nice to see the Wolves wrestling with someone other than themselves.

Former Wild player Mark Parrish sat nearby at Target Center, wondering if he should drop his gloves.

Alex Rodriguez waded into the fray, probably wondering whether Jason Varitek was about to punch him in the face. (Look it up, kids.)

The melee between the Timberwolves and Pistons spilled through the courtside photographers and into the seats, endangering fans.

It was ugly, and wrong, and because sports can be as illogical as good-luck charms, it might have been just what the Wolves needed.

With the Pistons missing two players because of injuries and three because of ejections after the brawl, the Wolves belatedly pulled away for a 123-104 victory.

Afterward, Wolves coach Chris Finch praised his team’s toughness.

Center Rudy Gobert said that rallying after a fight was “human nature.”

Anthony Edwards, asked about the beginning of the brawl, said “I love Donte,” meaning teammate Donte DiVincenzo, who wrestled with the Pistons’ Ronald Holland II.

If this game is remembered at all it will be for the brawl, and perhaps for the Wolves’ comeback.

What might be forgotten is that the Wolves spent another first half against an undermanned opponent playing like they didn’t recognize the urgency of their situation.

Even after the fight, it took them a handful of minutes to play the way a contender should play.

Because the Wolves displayed toughness and won the game, they could spend the postgame praising each other for beating a team that shouldn’t have been able to compete with them.

“They were taking it to us and we had to change that around,” Finch said. “Good response. And I did like the mental toughness that went with it tonight. … We came alive after the altercation. We also came alive because we were down. We were getting our butt kicked."

Facing an admirable Pistons team missing two of its best players, the Wolves snoozed through much of the first half as Edwards displayed the outward passion of a bored librarian.

Instead, a strong second half, and superlative performances from Gobert (19 points, 25 rebounds) and Mike Conley (17 points and a plus-24 while limiting Pistons scorer Malik Beasley in the second half) left the Wolves a half-game out of the sixth seed in the Western Conference.

“I thought we were fighting the game,” Finch said of his team in the first half. “Once we figured out what we needed to do, I thought our guys were really good.”

Former Wolves coach Flip Saunders used to talk about “popcorn players” — those who shined when they could smell the popcorn in a full arena, even if they didn’t perform well in practice.

For most of this season, the Wolves, when uninspired by their foe, have been unpopped kernels.

In the first half, Edwards went 2-for-8 with two rebounds and two assists and only five points.

Early in the third quarter, Edwards drew another technical foul, meaning he will be suspended for a game if he receives another.

While Julius Randle and DiVincenzo have figured out how to play with their new team, the Wolves are still uncertain every night exactly how Edwards will play with the team he leads.

Edwards’ prolific three-point shooting has masked the unevenness of his season.

He’s been poor in clutch situations, and his struggles in late-game situations have mirrored his overall woes.

He seems to predetermine how he will play instead of reading the court.

Sunday, Finch seemed determined to keep Edwards from monopolizing the ball early on, so he had Edwards standing in the corner for much of the first quarter.

Edwards played an excellent third quarter. Would he have surged if the Pistons hadn’t grabbed his attention?

What’s strange about the Wolves is that their flaws and inconsistent effort might not matter in the playoffs, if they avoid or survive the play-in round.

The Wolves might want to be the last team that Houston, Memphis or Denver would want to play.

Or fight.