The Phoenix Suns fall flat against the Minnesota Timberwolves, losing 124-109.
Unable to keep up with the Wolves after the first quarter, the Suns once again find themselves slipping further back in the race for a Play In tournament spot. The loss drops them another 0.5 games below the Dallas Mavericks, who hold the 10th seed, as the Suns are now 35-39 on the season.
The lone bright spot was Suns guard Collin Gillespie, who scored a career-high 22 points. But with Devin Booker having one of his worst nights of the season — finishing with 10 points and four turnovers — the Suns were unable to cut the Wolves’ lead to single digits after halftime.
It’s back to the drawing board. Whether these last two games are just a rough patch or a sign of deeper issues, the Suns need to wake up fast, with only eight games left in the season.
Game Flow
First Half
It was a battle between Kevin Durant of the Suns and Julius Randle of the Wolves, as they exchanged baskets, with Randle coming out on top to end the first quarter. Randle dominated with 12 points and was perfect from beyond the arc, hitting both of his three-pointers.
With Booker struggling to start the game, the Wolves jumped out to a 27-21 lead, leading both teams with 12 points in the paint and five made three-pointers.
The Suns struggled to stay consistent on the offensive end, committing five turnovers in the first quarter. It was a steep hill to climb early as they tried to break out of their funk.
But ending the first quarter with a buzzer-beater by Durant was a great way to lift the Suns spirits heading into the second quarter.
With Royce O’Neale catching fire from beyond the arc — hitting four of his first seven three-pointers in the second quarter — the Suns refused to let the Wolves pull away. But it wasn’t pretty.
The Wolves managed to answer every Royce three with one of their own, while the Suns’ offense continued to struggle to generate movement and create opportunities.
Collin Gillespie had a tough time against the Wolves’ length, with his passes and drives repeatedly disrupted, preventing the Suns from getting quality looks from the field.
Finishing the first half shooting 9-19 from three saved the Suns from being blown out. With little ball movement, the only option for the Suns was the heave it from three and pray.
Randle finished the first half strong, giving the Wolves a 57-45 lead behind his game-leading 16 points. The Suns looked out of sync at times, struggling to match the Wolves’ energy, but heading into halftime, it still felt like a game that could go either way.
Second Half
Nothing was going right for the Suns in the third quarter, and it was self-inflicted. The only bright spot was Gillespie, who started the quarter 4-for-4 from the field. He had to step up in place of Booker, who was still a non-factor, struggling—as he often does—against the Wolves’ size and defense.
The Suns trailed by as much as 22 points in the third, looking like the old Suns—lacking defense and unable to compete offensively. Relying on the three-point shot in the first half had kept them in the game, but without defensive intensity, it wasn’t enough.
Even after hitting four of their first seven three-pointers in the quarter, they still fell well short of matching the Wolves’ dominance in the paint.
The gap in interior scoring was drastic, with the Wolves outscoring the Suns 40-20 in the paint with about two minutes left in the third.
This shot of Bradley Beal on the bench said it all.
Remember the Suns before their four-game win streak? They were back to their old ways—falling behind big and struggling to put together a run to cut into the lead.
Down 92-75 entering the fourth, the Suns had 12 more minutes to pull off a much-needed victory.
One last push to make it a game, the Suns opened up the fourth quarter with a little 6-2 run, but one minute later, the Wolves answered back with four straight points. Oso Ighodaro was on the receiving end of a few sweet passes leading to easy shots around the rim, but, again, the Wolves kept answering on the other end.
It was over with about five minutes left in the fourth. The Suns found themselves down by 19 points, and with the crowd in Minnesota heading for the exits, it looked like doomsday was back in Phoenix.
Suns lose, 124-109.
Up Next
The Suns host the Houston Rockets at 6pm, Sunday.
Listen to the latest podcast episode of the Suns JAM Session Podcast below. Stay up to date on every episode, subscribe to the pod onApple,Spotify,YouTube,YouTube Podcasts,Amazon Music,Podbean,Castbox.
Please subscribe, rate, and review.