Timberwolves eclipse Suns 105-93 to take 2-0 lead in playoff series
Minneapolis — Jaden McDaniels set a playoff career high with 25 points and led the Minnesota Timberwolves to another stifling defensive performance in a 105-93 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, giving them a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert each scored 18 points for the Wolves, offsetting the Suns’ smothering of Anthony Edwards, who was restricted to 15 points on 3-for-12 shooting after surrendering 33 in the opening.
The teams go to Phoenix for Game 3 on Friday night. Minnesota has only had a 2-0 series lead once before, against Denver in the first round in 2004, on way to a 4-1 series triumph.
“Everyone down the list has shown they’ll be willing to do whatever it takes to sacrifice whatever it is for the betterment of the team,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 12.
Devin Booker scored 20 points, Kevin Durant added 18, and Eric Gordon had 15 for the Suns, who once again struggled to get their high-octane offense going.
“When they’re scoring on us and we’re not getting the right stops, we can’t be disorganized offensively,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “We had too many possessions like that.”
The big three of Booker, Durant, and Bradley Beal combined to shoot 18 for 45, with McDaniels topping the list of reasons for the slump.
“We can see it.” I can feel it. I can see them. “It’s tough,” Gobert said. “No one likes going against the type of defense that we’re playing right now.”
After opening up an eight-point advantage in the second quarter and leading 51-50 at halftime, the Suns wore down, while Towns recovered from early foul trouble.
Grayson Allen, Phoenix’s guard, suffered an exacerbated ankle injury in the third quarter. Minnesota’s advantage continued into the fourth quarter, accompanied by increased crowd noise. Conley hit Gobert with a bounce pass off the pick-and-roll for an easy dunk and an 84-76 advantage, which the Wolves subsequently increased to 19 points, before the 17-year-old veteran point guard swished a corner 3-pointer that electrified the stadium.
The shout, “Wolves in 4!” erupted in the final minutes.
“The construction has been wonderful. “The fans have been unbelievable,” coach Chris Finch remarked. “Our guys have risen to their energy, and we were locked in from the start.”
The Wolves used Edwards heavily on offense to win Game 1 by 25 points on Saturday, and the Suns never hesitated to put multiple players into his space.
The Timberwolves struggled to make them pay, shooting 9 of 32 from three-point range. The bench productivity that helped them dominate the opening has decreased slightly. The whistles were stricter this time, resulting in a costly three-foul first quarter for Towns, who was out until halftime.
However, McDaniels, Gobert, and anybody else sensibly rushed the basket with enthusiasm, allowing the Wolves to take advantage of their size inside.
They also passed their maturity test. Booker rammed his forearms into McDaniels after a wayward elbow, prompting an ill-advised shove that resulted in a technical foul. But the aggressive 23-year-old, who missed the 2023 first-round series against Denver due to a broken hand sustained by pounding a wall out of fury during the last regular-season game, did not let that define his night.
“Everyone on the team does a good job helping me manage emotions and stuff like that,” McDaniels said in a statement. “This is a physical game. There is nothing serious between us. “Sometimes things happen.”
McDaniels even smashed the boards at his coaches’ continuous encouragement, grabbing eight rebounds with his high-flying 6’9 frame. Finch deadpanned that he’d been harping on McDaniels to do so for the previous “250 games,” and the crew had him go through football-style drills at practice throughout the week to get him in character.
Jusuf Nurkic (10 points, 14 rebounds) counteracted some of Gobert’s award-winning and shot-altering defense. After the Timberwolves set a franchise playoff record with a plus-24 rebounding advantage, the Suns led 41-39, but progress proved difficult after that.
“Don’t count us out,” Booker added. “It’s a series for a reason.”
