Connect with us
Burn+

Phoenix Suns

Suns fall to Timberwolves 126-109 in Game 3, on the brink of first-round exit

© Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Edwards goes for 36 points and Rudy Gobert added 19 as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Phoenix Suns 126-109 in Game 3 on Friday night.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

Karl-Anthony Towns netted 18 points while Mike Conley pitched in with 15 for the Timberwolves who lead the series, 3-0.  Minnesota shot 43-for-87 (49.4%) from the field and heavily outrebounded Phoenix 50-28.

Bradley Beal had 28, Kevin Durant scored 25 points, and Devin Booker posted 23 as the Suns are on the verge of being swept. Phoenix were outscored 56-36 in the paint and 21-11 in points off of turnovers.

Suns Start Flat, Finish First Half Close

Winning both games early on in the series, the Timberwolves brought out the same high tempo and intensity from Minnesota to Phoenix as they created a 17-8 run early on.

Needing a spark, Eric Gordon came off of the bench and scored 10 points to tie the game for the Suns, 22-22. Gordon made a pair of three-pointers and four free throws in a 2:48 span.

Minnesota would narrowly grab the lead 34-32 in the first quarter before a back-and-forth, physical battle commenced until halftime.

Phoenix exerted more effort and urgency for every loose ball and on defense before the ‘Wolves cranked up the offense, up 59-53. Edwards ended the first half with 16 points.

‘Wolves Clawing Towards Second Round

Blowing the game wide-open, the Timberwolves were a near-perfect 7-for-11 (63.6%) from three in the third quarter alone. Lighting the rim on fire, Nickeil Alexander-Walker was 4-for-5 (80%) from deep himself.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Suns would see the deficit grow to 22, 95-73. Phoenix was unable to make a single three-pointer from the second quarter until 9:25 of the fourth when Beal broke a 0-for-6 skid.

“I know for a majority of it [struggles], we do have times when adversity hits and we’ll kinda just get flat,” Beal said. “We gotta get outta that. We have to continue to compete, continue to push. Teams are going to go on runs just like we go on our runs, that’s the game.

“Why it happens? I wish I had an answer… At the end of the day, we just control what we can control and sometimes we try to do a little too much and that hurts us. Sometimes our effort isn’t there and that hurts us too, its tough.”

Altering the lineup, Suns head coach Frank Vogel opted to go small ball by inserting Josh Okogie in place of Nurkić, and something seemed to click. Okogie, Beal and Durant flushed a trio of three-pointers for a 12-5 run at the midway point of the fourth, down 107-92.

Knowing the magnitude of this game, Minnesota started to pull away and frustration started to elevate from the Suns before Okogie received a Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 for swatting Gobert. Okogie was ejected after the foul was reviewed.

The buzzer rang at the end of the fourth and Phoenix are now down 0-3. On the brink of elimination, the Suns have not been swept in a playoff series 4-0 since the 1989 Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

“We want this real bad, so it’s disappointing, it’s frustrating,” Vogel said. “We’re all very invested in this. We’re pouring everything we have into trying to bring these fans a team they can be proud of, we feel like we can still do that but we haven’t played well enough in this series.”

Back at Footprint Center, Phoenix and Minnesota face each other once more in Game 4 on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. PT.

Is playing Bol Bol the Suns biggest rotation adjustment they need to make?

*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*

Alec Cipollini covers Phoenix Sports News for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini

Related Topics

More in Phoenix Suns