Anthony Edwards returns after 4-game absence with hamstring injury but Wolves routed by Knicks

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NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Edwards felt good and was expecting a strong performance after missing four games with a strained right hamstring.

“I was ready to ball out tonight,” Edwards said. “Basketball gods had other intentions.”

So did the New York Knicks.

The Knicks ruined the All-Star guard's return to the lineup by routing the Minnesota Timberwolves 137-114 on Wednesday night.

Edwards finished with 15 points in 29 minutes. He might have thought things would go better, but coach Chris Finch knew not to expect too much.

“Rough game back. It’s always going to be a tough game to come back when you’ve been out,” Finch said. “So I thought he did the best he could. I thought it was going to be a tough one and tough team to play.”

Edwards was hurt three minutes into the Wolves' home opener against Indiana on Oct. 26, their third game of the season. The team announced Monday that he had been cleared for full contact activities on the court and Finch said before the game the Wolves decided Edwards was ready to go after he looked like normal in his recent workouts.

But he didn't look great on the court Wednesday, especially early while trying to figure out how to fit back in on a team that had won two in a row behind Julius Randle's strong play.

“I could tell he was trying to find his rhythm and be patient and just try to work himself back into the feel,” Randle said. “He missed some shots early that he usually makes and stuff like that, but he’ll be fine.”

Edwards shot 5 for 13 from the field and the Wolves were outscored by 25 points when he was in the game. Finch said the offense wasn't the problem on a night when the Knicks turned 21 offensive rebounds into 31 second-chance points.

Edwards averaged 36 points in the two full games he was able to play before he was hurt. The four-game absence wasn’t much for a hamstring injury, but it was more games than Edwards had missed in any of the last three seasons. He played 79 games in each of those.

“It felt like forever,” Edwards said. “I was happy to get back out there for sure.”

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