Early in the third quarter, Minnesota star Anthony Edwards noted that the Phoenix Suns had changed up their defence, playing him almost exclusively one-on-one rather than with the double teams they had used in the first half.
That was seen as a challenge by the rising star.
The Timberwolves defeated the Suns 122-116 on Sunday night to sweep the first-round playoff series. Edwards scored 31 of his 40 points in the second half, Karl-Anthony Towns added 28, and the team rallied late.
The franchise hasn’t won a postseason series in twenty years.
Edwards made 13 of 23 field goals in the end, including 7 of 13 from three-point range. on 2:14 remaining, the 22-year-old scored 115 points on a strong one-handed jam to give Minnesota the lead.
In spite of Devin Booker’s 49 points on 13 of 21 shooting, the Wolves defeated the Suns. And he converted 20 out of 21 free throws. The rest of the squad struggled, but Kevin Durant contributed 33 points.
Jaden McDaniels of Minnesota scored eighteen points on six of twelve shots, and the Wolves enjoyed a 44-33 rebounding advantage.
With 4:30 left in a close fourth quarter, Royce O’Neale’s 3-pointer gave the Suns a 107 point lead. With 3:20 remaining, Edwards and Jaden McDaniels made back-to-back corner threes to give the Wolves a 113-109 lead.
The Wolves are currently waiting to find out if they will play the Los Angeles Lakers or Denver Nuggets in the second round.
Early in the third quarter, Edwards made back-to-back 3-pointers, and McDaniels followed with a strong slam to help Minnesota overcome a six-point deficit and take a 68-66 lead. Edwards finished the third quarter with a game-high 15 points and four 3-pointers.
In response, Booker scored 18 points in the quarter, giving the Suns a 92-90 advantage heading into the fourth. Bradley Beal, a three-time All-Star, had a difficult game as he only managed to score nine points on four of his thirteen shots before fouling out.
In an effort to keep big men Gobert and Towns away from the basket, the Suns used five perimeter players at different points throughout the first half to try and throw different looks at the Wolves.
The Suns led 61–56 at halftime thanks to a fallaway jumper made by Booker at the buzzer. Prior to the half, Durant had 20 points and Booker had 17. For the Wolves, Towns had fifteen.
Guard for the Suns Grayson Allen hurt his ankle in Game 1 and worsened it in Game 2, missing his second straight game. He topped the NBA in 3-point shooting throughout the regular season and averaged 13.5 points per game.
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