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DENVER — One of the defining traits of Anthony Edwards’ young career has been a Wolverine-like ability to pop up from falls that would break a mortal basketball player in half. He can take hits that would put the average human being out for two weeks, head to the locker room for treatment from Timberwolves vice president of medical operations David Hines and return to the game moments later as if nothing ever happened at all.

Any limp or hitch in his gait was always just a trap being set. Edwards would lull his defender into the belief that he was physically compromised, that the boundless athleticism that he uses to overwhelm his opponent was diminished. As soon as the man in front of him relaxed even more than a blink, he would turn on the jets, get to the rim and let everyone in the arena know that there was nothing to worry about.

So, when Edwards first started flexing his right knee and grimacing in a loss to Oklahoma City a month ago, everyone in his orbit shrugged their shoulders. He would be fine because he always isfine — because he’s Ant.

Somewhere along the line, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch started to notice a difference with how Edwards was reacting to this particular injury. The bright smile the head coach is used to seeing from his superstar was just a little less bright. The incandescent sparkle in his eye that tells everyone around him that he has this under control started to flicker.

“This is the first year that I’ve ever seen anything different where he’s been frustrated by not feeling 100 percent,” Finch said before Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. “He’s always played through little injuries, but I think this one, more than ever, felt it impinged the way he was able to play. But he looks good. He feels good right now. It’s just about getting him in the rhythm of the game, which is hard to do in the playoffs. But I know he’s ready for it.”

Edwards threw everything he had at the Nuggets in the opener of one of the most highly anticipated first-round matchups in these playoffs. He played for 38 minutes, attacked the basket when he saw openings and even blocked three shots at the rim. He scored 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out a season-high seven assists in a 116-105 loss.

But he did it all while laboring in a way we are not used to seeing come playoff time. His limp stemmed more from soreness than it did from swagger. The lift on his 3-ball wasn’t always there, and he missed seven of his nine shots from deep. His first step wasn’t as dangerous. He didn’t look quite like the player who has been a living nightmare for the Nuggets in this rivalry, which has low-key become one of the best in the league.

The Timberwolves are decided underdogs in this series against a team that has now won 13 straight games. Their biggest hope for an upset is that the Nuggets have had no answer for Edwards throughout his six professional seasons. If his knee prevents him from reaching the heights he normally does, and from hounding Jamal Murray on the perimeter the way he did in their 2024 series, the Wolves are in deep, deep trouble.

Edwards was 7 of 19 from the field and turned the ball over three times. There was no shame in his performance. He missed 11 of the last 14 games of the regular season and has been receiving around-the-clock treatment to try to get his knee ready to play. What he showed on Saturday was an inspiring level of grit and determination to gut through something that is clearly limiting him.

After the game, Edwards and Finch both said that any struggles he had in Game 1 were the product of him searching for a rhythm after missing so much time.

“I didn’t see a ton of physical limitations,” Finch said. “I really didn’t. It looked like a rusty game back.”

He could be right. Edwards has played three games since March 15 — never two in a row — so it is reasonable to assume that there is some reacclimating that has to be done, especially when he’s playing a mile above sea level, as the Nuggets are quick to remind everyone in the pregame hype video.

“I felt good,” Edwards said. “I mean, a little fatigued. I haven’t played in like a month, month-and-a-half, so a little fatigued. But that was expected. Other than that, I felt good.”

This entire Timberwolves season seemingly rides on that right knee, the one covered in a black protective legging while he is on the court and is shrouded in a Normatec compression sleeve that provides pulse therapy to the aching joint for practically every waking minute that he is not hooping these days.

Edwards is Minnesota’s superpower, the one player who genuinely strikes fear into the Nuggets’ hearts. The offense falls apart without him on the floor, and the only avenue the defense has to being anywhere close to the unit that took Murray and the Nuggets apart in their 2024 series is through Edwards being a physical and suffocating pit bull on the perimeter.

No one batted an eye when asked about Edwards after the game. They have seen him rise to the occasion too many times over the years to believe that he won’t do it again.

“You could tell his rhythm was a little off,” Julius Randle said. “I think these reps and getting some reps in (practice) tomorrow, I think he’ll be even better. He was really good. I know he’s going to be critical of himself, but I thought he looked great out there.”

The Timberwolves had much bigger issues in Game 1 than a muted Edwards. Randle really struggled, picking up two quick fouls in the first quarter to send him to the bench and hitting just 3 of 11 shots through the first three quarters of the game. He finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, missing a bevy of shots around the rim that he normally makes.

“It was a little choppy, but I felt a little better as the game went down the stretch,” Randle said.

His lone turnover was a doozy, an ill-advised pass to Rudy Gobert in traffic when the Wolves had the ball down five with six minutes to play. Nikola Jokić scored on a putback on the other end, and the Wolves never got closer than five points the rest of the way.

“We’ve got to make smarter, more solid plays,” Finch said.

Naz Reid was equally ineffective, scoring just five points on 2-of-6 shooting, with three rebounds and two turnovers. He committed four fouls in 17 minutes and spent more time bickering with officials than he did getting to the rim.

The Wolves also fouled Murray over and over again, putting him on the free-throw line for 16 attempts. They were whistled for 25 fouls in the game, and while Murray may have embellished a few of them — including when he fell to the floor on a 3-point attempt and Jaden McDaniels was inexplicably assessed a flagrant foul for an illegal closeout — the vast majority of whistles were justified.

All of the fouling prevented the Timberwolves from getting on top of Denver. Minnesota came out with an impressive first quarter, shooting 52 percent and holding the Nuggets to 27 percent from the field. But the lead could have been much bigger than 10 points if the Wolves had not put the Nuggets on the foul line nine times in the quarter. Denver shot 21 free throws in the first half.

“I think we have to understand that we are the underdogs and that (we’re) definitely not going to get more calls than them,” Gobert said. “So, you got to accept that. And no matter what’s being called on the floor, we can’t let that distract us. I think tonight we got too much frustration that carried over on the next possessions. If you want to beat this team, we can’t have that.”

Gobert was one of the major bright spots in the game. He had 17 points and 10 rebounds and scored on an array of drives to the rim that are usually beyond the bounds of his offensive game. He also really made Jokić work on the defensive end. The Nuggets star had 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, but he also turned it over five times and only shot one free throw.

“Rudy was awesome tonight in all facets,” Finch said. “He was really good defensively. Offensively, he caught, finished well, on balance. I thought he played an outstanding game.”

McDaniels had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Donte DiVincenzo hit four 3s for the Wolves, but they walked out of Ball Arena on Saturday evening feeling like they let one get away.

Jokić was good, but did not thrash the Wolves as he has done so many times in the past. Murray was just 7 of 22 from the field, including 0 of 8 on 3s, but still finished with 30 points thanks to all the free throws. The Nuggets, who lead the league in 3-point shooting, went 1 of 17 from deep in the second half.

And the Wolves still lost.

So many things can improve for the Wolves in Game 2 on Monday night. They can get out in transition more for easy buckets. They can attack the paint with more effectiveness because the Nuggets cannot protect the rim. They can move their feet better on defense to avoid some of the fouls.

But what they really need is a little magic. They need Edwards’ knee to loosen up and give him more of the explosion that he is used to having. They need those healing powers he has always had to kick into overdrive over the next two days.

Finch has always said that he doesn’t look at how Edwards is moving to determine where he is at from a physical standpoint.

“I just look for the brightness in his smile,” Finch said. “When he’s out there having fun and knows he’s got the confidence in his game and in his body, which I think he’s always had, that’s what you look for.”

As the clock ticked down on the loss, Edwards pulled his team together to give them a message.

“They did their job. They won the first game on their floor,” he told them. “We would’ve loved to win the first game and, you know, ruffle some feathers, but they came out and competed at a high level and did their job. So, we should be ready next game to come out here and do what we got to do to get a win.”

As he recounted that story at the podium after the game, he told it with a big smile on his face and a noticeable twinkle in his eye. And with that, he he walked out to the team bus, down 1-0, with NikolaJokić walking just a few steps ahead of him.