The Phoenix Suns are not only heading to the postseason by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-106, but they will face each other in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Heading into Sunday, Phoenix crucially needed to win and the New Orleans Pelicans to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Pelicans were the sixth seed with a 49-32 record while the Suns were 48-33 coming into the last day of the regular season.
In a must-win situation, Bradley Beal carried the Suns with 36 points en route to a 125-106 victory over the Timberwolves.
To help out the Suns who needed the Lakers to pull out a victory, Anthony Davis scored 30 and LeBron James added 28 as Los Angeles cruised to a 124-108 win over the Pelicans.
Because of New Orleans falling, both teams had a 49-33 record before Phoenix leap-frogged into the sixth seed. Since they won the head-to-head series against the Pelicans 2-1 this season, this would settle the tie-breaker in the Suns’ favor.
Now, New Orleans will match up with the Lakers in the NBA play-in tournament after this result. Whoever wins the game will be the seventh seed in the playoffs while the loser will play the winner of the No. 9 seeded Sacramento Kings and No. 10 Golden State Warriors. The team that is victorious in the second game of the play-in tourney will be the official eighth seed.
On the other hand, Phoenix will run back Sunday’s clash against the Timberwolves but in the first round of the playoffs. Minnesota was neck-and-neck with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets as they all were all 56-25 atop the Western Conference coming into Sunday. Both the Thunder and Nuggets won their final games, so Minnesota finished third with the defeat to the Suns.
Game 1 between Phoenix and Minnesota in the first round will be on Saturday, April 20. The time of the game is not determined yet.
Stay tuned to Burn City Sports for updates on further scheduling and news surrounding the Suns during the NBA playoffs.
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers Phoenix Sports News for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
