Game 6 saw the San Antonio Spurs put on a showstopper at the Target Center on Friday night, putting an end to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ season with a blowout 139-109 win.
Desperate for a breakthrough, Minnesota simply lacked the defensive answers to slow a relentless San Antonio attack and walked toward another frustrating playoff exit. Besides the defeat, Anthony Edwards’ controversial gesture with over half of the fourth quarter remaining sparked intense debate online.
Anthony Edwards’ Game 6 Handshake Sparks Mixed Reactions
Minnesota trailed by 33 points with just over 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter, and Chris Finch decided to wave the white flag, pulling his core rotation.
Instead of walking toward the bench, Edwards walked the length of the floor to approach the San Antonio bench.
The four-time All-Star began congratulating the Spurs’ players and coaches while the game clock was still ticking.
Naturally, the reactions poured in quickly, and the opinions were fiercely divided. Giving his take on the controversial gesture, one user wrote, “It’s still room for comeback. This is unacceptable, Anthony Edwards quit on his team.”
It’s still room for comeback. This is unacceptable, Anthony Edwards quit on his team
— Rx McLovin (@McLovinWorst) May 16, 2026
Meanwhile, another user saw nothing wrong with the moment, writing, “Anthony Edwards is a class act for sure. Game recognizes game. Now the Spurs need to go beat the Thunder 🫡🔥”
“Your time will come AntMan,” one user remarked.
One user defending Edwards noted his massive offensive workload throughout the series, despite playing through a knee injury.
“Did everything he could on 1 leg and nobody else showed up, this guy is gonna win REAL SOON and shoutout Naz too, bro played his a** off against this tough team. Everyone else can f**k off,” they wrote.
Did everything he could on 1 leg and nobody else showed up this guy is gonna win REAL SOON and shoutout Naz too bro played his ass off against this tough team
Everyone else can fuck off https://t.co/pp8HQZfgPX
— N🐜 (@lockedbyae) May 16, 2026
“Same energy,” one wrote, drawing comparisons to a similar incident involving LeBron James congratulating the Golden State Warriors players in 2018.
Same energy pic.twitter.com/wMMD2R9r1a https://t.co/mF2LCwqanl
— َ (@FeelLikeZion) May 16, 2026
“Real af for this tbh,” another user remarked.
“Steph Castle on Anthony Edwards coming over to congratulate the Spurs bench early in the fourth quarter: ‘I’ve never seen that before. But it was cool. We were competing all series, so for him to come over there and show that kind of respect, it was definitely cool,'” The Athletic’s Jared Weiss reported.
Steph Castle on Anthony Edwards coming over to congratulate the Spurs bench early in the fourth quarter: “I’ve never seen that before. But it was cool. We were competing all series, so for him to come over there and show that kind of respect, it was definitely cool.”
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) May 16, 2026
It was an Edwards-led Minnesota offense again, as he recorded 24 points, while Terrence Shannon Jr. contributed 21 off the bench.
Despite Edwards’ heroics throughout the series, the Timberwolves lacked the edge to compete with a dominant San Antonio.
After the game, Edwards was brief in addressing the controversial moment, “At that point, you know you ain’t going back in, so you’re just trying to get them the respect that they deserve.”
Meanwhile, San Antonio now turns its attention to the Western Conference Finals against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, with Game 1 tipping off Monday night.
