Anthony Edwards cited for assault for allegedly hitting 2 women with folding chair after Timberwolves' elimination

Anthony Edwards was cited for two cases of third-degree assault after allegedly hitting two women with a folding chair at the end of the Minnesota Timberwolves' series-clinching loss to the Denver Nuggets, according to Denver Sports' Jake Shapiro.

The alleged incident occurred when the final buzzer sounded in Game 5 on Tuesday in Denver, a 112-109 Nuggets comeback win that ended the first-round series 4-1. Edwards missed an attempt at a would-be-game-tying 3-pointer, then ran off the court as other players exchanged handshakes.

At that point, Denver police allege that Edwards picked up a chair and swung it, hitting a security guard in the back and a second worker after the chair was thrown. Both employees were reportedly injured, neither seriously, and asked to file charges against Edwards.

The incident seemed to be briefly captured on the NBA TV broadcast, in which Edwards can be seen running with a chair then swinging it down toward a woman, who immediately reacts to the contact. Another woman across the walkway also reacts as the chair moves toward her.

You can see it around the 21-second mark here:

And here's the chair swing slowed down with the brightness increased:

Another angle was later found, though the movement of the camera makes it hard to judge the impacts of the chair:

Denver police reportedly stopped the Timberwolves bus after the game to cite Edwards. In Colorado, a third-degree assault charge carries a punishment of up to 18 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

The Timberwolves responded to the allegations with a brief statement Wednesday, saying they were aware of the incident and still gathering information:

“We are aware of the alleged incident regarding Anthony Edwards following Game 5 in Denver and are in the process of gathering more information. We have no further comment at this moment.”

The ugly moment came at the end of a breakout series for Edwards, even though his team lost. The former No. 1 overall pick averaged 31.6 points, 5.2 assists and 5 rebounds per game in the five-game series.

Edwards came under fire last year when he posted a video in which he used a homophobic slur, for which he apologized and was fined $40,000 by the NBA.