Suns collapse against Timberwolves despite Boogie Ellis masterclass in Summer League

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX – Wednesday was setting up to be a bounce back performance from the Phoenix Suns after an embarrassing lost on Monday to the Sacramento Kings. Phoenix came out scorching hot in the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas against the undefeated Minnesota Timberwolves squad, exploding to a 16-point first quarter lead. Suns guard Boogie Ellis was having a sensational 23-point performance that looked to answer the team’s inept offensive attack.

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However, the game quickly turned south. After shooting north of 60% in the 1st quarter, Phoenix would finish the game shooting 39% and couldn’t stop the one-two punch of Rob Dillingham and Leonard Miller. After shooting 30.7% from the field to start the game, Dillingham would make five of his next seven shots to finish with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Miller had a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds in the 89-85 win.

Second-year wing Ryan Dunn had an abysmal shooting night, going 3-for-13 from the field. Fellow second-year player Oso Ighodaro was the only other lone standout outside of Ellis, recording 17 points and six rebounds. However, a late defensive mistake by Ighodaro did lead to a late, crucial bucket in Minnesota’s victory.

1st Quarter:

Suns Summer League head coach DeMarre Carroll inserted Ellis into the starting lineup to jumpstart the offense, and exceeded that goal. The former USC standout scored 12 first quarter points and shot 100% from the field. Ellis and Ighodaro fueled a 15-5 run that saw the duo score 10 straight points.

Phoenix was attacking the rim, scoring 14 paint points against Minnesota in the first quarter. After shooting below 40% from the field last game, the Suns shot 61.1% from the field and moved like a well oiled machine. The Timberwolves had no answer defensively, and offensively couldn’t finish overt the size of Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach.

2nd Quarter:

Sadly for Phoenix, the 1st quarter appeared to be a fluke as it only scored 10 points the following frame, making only three field goals. The offense took a nosedive, shooting only 17.6% from the field and failing to make a 3-pointer. The Suns didn’t record a made basket until 3:20 remaining in the 2nd quarter.

The offense devolved into lazy passes and settling for shots instead of initiating the offense and following the flow of the game. Minnesota’s defense did ramped up, but its offense remained stagnant. The Timberwolves shot 25.8% from the field in the 1st half, as second-year players Dillingham and Jaylen Clark couldn’t cut into in the Suns double digit deficit, trailing 42-32

3rd Quarter:

With the talent on the Minnesota’s roster it wasn’t hard to predict that they would make a run, especially with Phoenix inability score. Dating back to the end of the 1st half, the Timberwolves would proceed to go on a 24-5 run, led by third-year player Miller. The Canadian wing scored 10 third-quarter points, as his 6’10 frame overwhelmed Phoenix’s big men.

Ellis remained the lone scoring threat for the Suns, scoring the team’s first five points in the third quarter and seven points overall in the frame. However, Ellis was the only player to score for his squad in the first six minutes, with rookie Rasheer Fleming be the only other scorer in the first 8:23 of the quarter.

Despite the lack of scoring, Phoenix weathered the storm and retook the lead with less than 30 seconds left in the quarter, 59-57 heading into the 4th.

4th quarter:

After the Timberwolves couldn’t throw the knockout punch in the third, the Suns had plenty of confidence entering the final frame. The team made its first three 3-pointers, two of which by Moses Wood, who missed his first five attempted beforehand. After scoring just 27 points after the first quarter, Phoenix would scored 15 points in the first three minutes.

Dillingham wouldn’t let his team fall too far out of it, scoring Minnesota’s first seven points to keep them in striking distance with a red-hot shooting Phoenix club. After falling down as much as seven points early in the quarter, the Timberwolves brought it back to a one-score game.

However, Maluach would hit a massive wide-open 3-pointer on the right wing to stop Minnesota’s run. Carroll discussed how the team wanted the 18-year-old to shoot from beyond the arc in Summer League to get the experience. After shooting one-for-six in his debut from the perimeter, Maluach went two-for-four from the 3-point line.

However, Miller would continue to cause problems for the Suns drawing a foul on Maluch for an and-one opportunity and recovering a missed free throw for a putback to give the Timberwolves its first lead of the quarter.

Phoenix would respond quickly with a game-tying layup, but an overhelp by Ighodaro left Tristen Newton opened in the corner and hit the 3-point dagger to secure in Minnesota’s 89-85 win.

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Reporter Tanner Tortorella covers general assignment for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @TannerTSports