The Phoenix Suns and their so-called Big Three return home to the desert in a big pickle. They're going to have to figure out the Minnesota Timberwolves best-in-the-NBA defense and crawl out of a 2-0 hole.
Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and the Suns are in a must-win situation heading into Friday’s Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Timberwolves, who looked mostly dominant in a pair of double-digit wins in the first two games.
Game 2 showed off Jaden McDaniels who scored a game-high 25 points and continued to play lockdown defense against the Suns "big three". McDaniels says head coach Chris Finch is still pushing him to do better.
"It's the playoffs, I mean, we gotta win," says McDaniels. "So it's just doing anything to win. He's been on me the whole regular season about offensive rebounds and you see tonight, he's right. He knows what he's talking about. I'm just going to continue to listen to him."
Veteran point guard Mike Conley says they can't pace themselves on defense and show any let up.
"During the playoffs, you know, everyone knows it's win or go home every night kind of situation for us," Conley said. "You get maximum effort from everybody. Everybody's picking up full court. Just proud we're able to all do that collectively, and just everyone's in it all together."
Durant has been on a team that recovered from a 2-0 deficit to win a series — the 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder — but said there’s no advice he or anyone else can give to pull the Suns out of their current predicament.
Instead, they just have to play better.
“You can talk all you want, but if you don’t execute what you just talked about, it does you no good,” Durant said. “Talking and rah-rah speeches are cool to a certain point, but you’ve got to go out there and execute.
“We haven’t done that. We’ve done it in spurts, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not good enough doing it in spurts.”
The Suns hoped to be one of the NBA’s best teams this year after acquiring Beal in an offseason trade, adding the three-time All-Star to a roster that already included Durant and Booker. But Beal’s myriad of injuries early in the season kept him out of the lineup for long stretches, and the group never quite found consistent cohesion.
A 10-4 record to close the regular season was encouraging, but the first two games of the playoffs were not. Now there are only a few more chances to get it right, or the season ends in disappointment.
But for the Timberwolves, it's a chance to prove themselves in the postseason and win a series for the first time since 2004.
GAME THREE
Minnesota Timberwolves (56-26, third in the Western Conference) vs. Phoenix Suns (49-33, sixth in the Western Conference), Phoenix; Friday, 9:30 p.m. CDT.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Suns -4; over/under is 206.5
WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Timberwolves lead series 2-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Timberwolves visit the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference first round with a 2-0 lead in the series. The Timberwolves won the last meeting 105-93 on April 23 led by 25 points from Jaden McDaniels, while Devin Booker scored 20 points for the Suns.
The Suns are 29-23 in Western Conference games. Phoenix is 18-6 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 14.1 turnovers per game.
The Timberwolves are 37-15 in Western Conference play. Minnesota ranks seventh in the Western Conference scoring 50.8 points per game in the paint led by Anthony Edwards averaging 10.7.
The Suns make 49.3% of their shots from the field this season, which is 4.3 percentage points higher than the Timberwolves have allowed to their opponents (45.0%). The Timberwolves are shooting 48.5% from the field, 2.1% higher than the 46.4% the Suns’ opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Booker is averaging 27.1 points and 6.9 assists for the Suns. Kevin Durant is averaging 23.4 points over the last 10 games.
Edwards is averaging 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Timberwolves. Rudy Gobert is averaging 15.5 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Suns: 6-4, averaging 108.5 points, 40.7 rebounds, 25.4 assists, 9.4 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.3 points per game.
Timberwolves: 7-3, averaging 113.7 points, 42.9 rebounds, 27.1 assists, 9.8 steals and 5.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.1 points.
INJURIES: Suns: Damion Lee: out (knee), Grayson Allen: day to day (ankle).
Timberwolves: Jaylen Clark: out (achilles), Kyle Anderson: day to day (hip).
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