During the regular season, the Phoenix Suns absolutely dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves, securing three decisive blowout victories.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!However, the current playoff scenario presents a stark contrast, as the Suns find themselves trailing 0-2 in the first round, teetering on the brink of elimination, following a 105-93 loss.
Thus far in the playoffs, home teams have yet to pick up a win.
After staying with the Timberwolves for the first three quarters, everything went south in the final 15 minutes. Following a failed challenge by Frank Vogel on an offensive foul call against Devin Booker, diminishing Phoenix’s timeouts to a solitary one, the Timberwolves embarked on a relentless 9-0 scoring spree, even without Anthony Edwards.
The absence of Grayson Allen due to a right ankle injury exacerbated the Suns’ effort. Stripped of Allen’s contributions, the Suns appeared to throw in the towel, relinquishing their defensive intensity and allowing Minnesota to amass an 18-point lead, the largest of the night.
During this run, the Timberwolves took full advantage of the home crowd. Once the fans began to come to life, there was no turning back.
Phoenix’s woes were further compounded by turnovers, which gifted Minnesota 31 crucial points. In the 2nd half, Phoenix struggled to get a shot off in most possessions, as they could not find a way to breakthrough Minnesota’s strong defense.
Devin Booker, striving to rebound from a lackluster performance in Game 1, encountered a dismal shooting night, connecting on only one of six attempts from beyond the arc before fouling out late in the fourth quarter, tallying a modest 20 points. Booker’s presence on the court coincided with a staggering -23 point deficit for the Suns.
When the Suns traded for Kevin Durant last season, Anthony Edwards boldly asserted, “You know they got KD but we got Jaden McDaniels.”
Ant: "You know they got KD but we got Jaden McDaniels" 🗣️pic.twitter.com/wKLC7IspQC
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2024
And tonight, the statement aged like fine wine as Jaden McDaniels had the best game of his career, leading the Timberwolves with 25 points. On the other hand, KD finished with 18 points on 6-15 shooting.
The recurring themes of turnovers, 4th quarter struggles, and conceding second-chance points mirrored the challenges the Suns encountered during the regular season.
Phoenix has scored less than 100 points in both games to open the playoffs, against Minnesota during the regular season, they averaged 118 PPG.
As the series transitions to downtown Phoenix for the next three games, the Suns will bank on a loud home-court advantage to reverse their fortunes.
Game 3 of this best-of-seven series is Friday at 6:30 PM.
