Donte DiVincenzo threw his up arms in exasperated fashion the second Anthony Edwards veered away from the plan Saturday night. Down two with 6 seconds to play against the Grizzlies, the Timberwolves dialed up a baseline out-of-bounds play it had utilized many times a year ago. The plan was for Edwards to inbound the ball to Julius Randle toward the top of the arc, then step in and serve as a decoy as Mike Conley used a Rudy Gobert screen to pop to the corner. Ideally, Randle could hit Conley for a good look at the game-winning triple. But Edwards threw the pass to Randle, then paused only briefly before breaking off the play, instead running to the forward to retrieve the ball. Randle acquiesced, executing a dribble hand-off action. Memphis switched, and Brandon Clarke forced Edwards into a contested 3-point attempt at the horn that resulted in an air ball. DiVincenzo stood in place for a brief period after the horn sounded, tossing his arms up once more. His movements said it all. What the heck? “We didn’t execute the back-end of it,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. Out of choice. Perhaps Edwards didn’t like where his in-bounds pass to Randle wound up. The spot where the forward caught the ball didn’t make for the best angle to deliver a pass to Conley in that situation — although it still would’ve been available with a dribble or two left, or even just a lob pass often executed off flare screens. For the record, Conley did get open off the Gobert screen. But by that point, Edwards already had the ball with his mind made up. He was going to shoot. You can debate whether or not it was the correct call in the huddle to get Conley a look in that situation rather than diagramming something for Edwards or even DiVincenzo, who had drilled six triples on the night and has been one of the team’s best players. As for the result, the original call was never given a chance to work. A player effectively disposing of the plan at the outset creates instant confusion, and frustration, for those around him. See: DiVincenzo’s reaction. Because the guard played significantly better than Edwards — who was 0 for 4 from distance Saturday before taking it upon himself to put up that final attempt — yet he was a dutiful soldier who stood in the opposite corner on the final play to allow his gravity to generate the necessary spacing for the rest of the play to work. Only to have Edwards foil the attempt, anyway. BRIEFLY The NBA changed the tip-off time for Minnesota’s home game Wednesday against Golden State to 8:30 p.m. That game will now be televised nationally on ESPN. The Lakers’ home game was originally scheduled to be the second half of the ESPN doubleheader that evening, but the status of that contest remains up in the air because of the California fires. Related Articles Minnesota Timberwolves | Memphis edges Minnesota late in game that closely resembled 2022 playoffs Minnesota Timberwolves | Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has Julius Randle’s back Minnesota Timberwolves | Timberwolves win third straight, continue to climb West standings Minnesota Timberwolves | Timberwolves lock in defensively to top Pelicans in New Orleans Minnesota Timberwolves | Anthony Edwards powers Timberwolves to comeback win over Clippers