March 19 (UPI) -- Anthony Edwards completed potentially the best dunk of the NBA season and gave defender John Collins a head injury in the process of the acrobatic one-handed slam in the third quarter of a Minnesota Timberwolves victory.
The high-flying finish occurred with about 5:29 remaining in the frame during the 114-104 triumph over the Utah Jazz on Monday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Timberwolves star also sustained a finger injury during the dunk, but returned to the game.
"That was my best dunk of my career, I'm not going to lie," Edwards said on the Bally Sports broadcast.
Edwards scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half. He also totaled eight assists and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves, who are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets with 47 victories, the most in the Western Conference and second-most in the NBA, trailing only the Boston Celtics (54).
The Timberwolves trailed 66-65 at the start of Monday's dunk sequence. Collin Sexton started the play with an inbound pass to fellow Jazz guard Keyonte George. Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker then poked the ball away from George.
Edwards snatched the loose ball, dribbled and tossed a bounce pass ahead for Alexander-Walker, who immediately passed it back.
Edwards caught the feed at the elbow, stepped into the paint and elevated. He then pulled the ball back far in his right hand as Collins jumped straight up in front of him.
Edwards disregarded the 6-foot-9 defender, arching his back and powerfully punching the ball over him as their bodies collided. He threw the ball through the rim before landing on his feet, while Collins hit the floor hard and held his head, which appeared to hit Collins during the jam.
Edwards also held his left hand, which appeared to get caught between Collins' neck and shoulder during the run-in. Edwards, who said he dislocated a finger, popped it back into place. The Jazz said Collins, who was called for a foul on the play, was evaluated for a concussion and would not return.
Edwards went on to make the resulting free throw. He also made a layup on the next possession. The game was tied 83-83 at the end of the quarter. The Timberwolves outscored the Jazz 31-21 over the final 12 minutes.
The Timberwolves outscored the Jazz 46-42 in the paint, 42-40 in bench points and 16-12 off fast breaks. They also scored 27 points off 17 Jazz turnovers.
Timberwolves center Naz Reid chipped in 17 points. Alexander-Walker and fellow Timberwolves guard Jordan McLaughlin scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench.
Sexton led the Jazz with 24 points off the bench. Forward Lauri Markkanen chipped in 22 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Edwards is averaging a career-best 26.6 points and 5.1 assists per game this season.
The Timberwolves (47-21) will host the Nuggets (47-21) at 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday in Minneapolis. The Jazz (29-39) will meet the Western Conference-leading Thunder (47-20) at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
