Wolves 120, Suns 95: Underdogs? Hell NAW

The Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday afternoon returned to the floor at Target Center just six days after they ended a historic 56-win regular season with a blowout loss to their soon-to-be first-round playoff opponent Phoenix Suns.

But this time had a different feel. A hungry pack of Wolves were ready to welcome desert travelers to an uncomfortable territory, where a near-freezing chill in the air matched by a white out inside the arena, with one thing on their minds: survive.

There were no distractions. No playoff seeding scenarios. No playoff previews. No outside noise. Just basketball, with both teams entering 0-0, ready to go to war with contrasting styles. Offense vs. defense. The desert warmth vs. the northern lights.

All that was left to set the basketball stage was for 20,000 fans to fill the seats, dressed in white, eager to stand behind their pack, and ready to embark on a hunt that could reawaken a forest dormant since the alpha wolf wore No. 21 with trees around the waist.

Timberwolves faithful from the moment the doors opened brought an immediate buzz. One that did not carry a palpable angst of seasons past, but one of confidence. It was yet another sign that today, Game 1, could be an inflection point rather than another bullet point on a long list of heartbreak that still hasn’t desensitized any of yet. But the script still had to be written, and pen couldn’t meet page until 10 players stepped in between the four lines.

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Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images

Just as we all expected, Target Center was an absolute madhouse from the tip. The opening possession only poured lighter fluid on an explosive atmosphere, with Kevin Durant forcing a switch to attack Rudy Gobert in space, resulting in a clanked right short corner jumper and a Wolves run-out the other way. Karl-Anthony Towns couldn’t drain his first look, trailing the play from straight on, but Jaden McDaniels was right there for a put-back finish.

That set the tone for the first six minutes. Durant engaged Towns and Rudy Gobert as a handler in pick-and-roll nearly every time down the floor and took six shots, all in the mid-range.

“It’s very important, and I think if you date back to those three games, that’s what hurt us. And today Rudy made that adjustment because he knew what mattered. But also we all came together and said, ‘hey, we’re gonna have to do some uncomfortable things in order to get this win’. Guys gotta figure it out,” Nickeil Alexander-Walker said postgame about Gobert’s ability to switch out onto the perimeter and get stops.

“And again, credit to Rudy, credit to everybody who took that week seriously and tried to prepare for today and the outcome of the game.”

Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, meanwhile, barely touched the ball, and Mike Conley did an excellent job chasing Grayson Allen around to prevent him from getting looks from deep. Durant took eight of the Suns’ first 13 shot attempts, and the Wolves did a good job defending seven of the eight.

On the other end, the Wolves did a solid job of pushing off stops, creating most of their easy offense in semi transition against a scrambling Phoenix defense. Anthony Edwards often saw two on the ball, and turned it over twice early, but quickly played his way into the game and made three of his first five looks to lead Minnesota with seven early points. Phoenix switched most action up top, but the Wolves moved the ball. Their three early turnovers were more so a byproduct of trying to do too much on the dribble as the navigated and felt out the Suns’ defense.

Phoenix tried to gain some separation early once Booker scored five of seven points for the Suns as they built a 20-15 lead eight minutes in. But Nickeil Alexander-Walker, in as the first sub with Naz Reid for Conley and Towns, respectively, didn’t let that happen. He drove a wide open lane after a Gobert hand-off for a left handed finish, before burying a left corner 3 after the Suns showed three to Edwards in the middle of the floor. Reid followed suit on the next trip from the left slot, and Minnesota regained a 23-22 lead late in the quarter. As I wrote in my series preview, the Timberwolves bench has to destroy a Suns bench that is last in the league in scoring, and the first quarter was a great start.

Beal checked out without attempting a shot, as did Allen. Beal re-entered for Durant at the 1:28 mark, with KD scoring 11 of Phoenix’s 22 points on 5/9 shooting.

Phoenix led 28-27 after one thanks to a second Royce O’Neale right slot 3-pointer that answered pair of Towns free throws to get him on the scoreboard with 19 seconds left in the frame. Edwards scored seven points on 3/5 shooting, but exited with 46 seconds left in the quarter after he picked up his second foul on a charge.

The Timberwolves held the Suns to just one free throw — which came on a take foul — which was a great sign against a Phoenix team whose 22.0% free throw rate is the best in the NBA.

Finch stuck to an eight-man rotation, as the second quarter opened with Conley, NAW, Kyle Anderson, Reid and Gobert on the floor. But Monte Morris entered when Anderson picked up a foul at the 10:26 mark and left the game holding his right side, which forced him to go back to the locker room. But Anderson quickly returned to the bench after spending less than two minutes in the back. He was later deemed questionable, and then ruled out with a right hip pointer.

But like he has so often this season, and proved to do last season in the playoffs, Alexander-Walker just took over the game with his energy in the early second quarter. He put-back an offensive rebound for a bucket on the first trip, made life extremely difficult for the Suns’ guards, drained a 3 from atop the key, and came away with a steal, too.

Thanks to the tone Alexander-Walker set defensively, the Wolves did a tremendous job keeping the Suns out of the paint and forcing Phoenix guards to take difficult mid-range jumpers. Even when the Suns got to the rim, there were two, three and even four defenders there to crash the glass.

McDaniels deserves a ton of credit, too. His defense made everything tough for Booker in the half-court. He didn’t give the All-NBA guard room to breathe on the drive, and when Book elevated, McDaniels was there to meet him at the summit and contest shots. Even when Booker wasn’t involved, Jaden still flew around, tipped passes, contested shots, grabbed rebounds, and did all the little things the Wolves needed — including staying out of foul trouble. If the series is going to be officiated like this, with limited contact as no calls, McDaniels is going to be a weapon.

The starters rode that wave of energy when they came back in to open up a seven-point lead at the 4:23 mark of the quarter, when Suns Head Coach Frank Vogel called a timeout after a Towns put-back. It then grew to double digits as a result of the Wolves cutting off of KAT at the top of the key, from where he threw a pair of perfect passes to McDaniels for an and-1 and Edwards for a layup.

But Edwards picked up his third foul on the next trip down, potentially complicating the end of the half for Finch. But with the way Alexander-Walker was playing down the stretch, you could feel safe sitting Ant for the final 3:18. And it paid off. Booker immediately picked up his third on the ensuing Wolves possession, and Towns knocked down two more of his game-high seven free throw makes in the half.

Phoenix closed the half without a true center on the floor, allowing Towns to go to work inside; KAT’s physicality was an important variable in the half, as he got to the line seven times and served as instant offense on the left block in 1-on-1 post-ups on Durant — a clear advantage for the Timberwolves, who led 61-51 at halftime.

Towns led the way for the Wolves with 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and most importantly, just one turnover. Alexander-Walker added 12 points on 5/8 shooting, three rebounds, three steals, and was a game-high +15 for his efforts. Gobert scored six points but corralled 10 rebounds and helped hold the Suns to 9/17 (53%) shooting at the rim. Edwards, meanwhile, registered a line of 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and three fouls.

Durant had 18 points for Phoenix, while Jusuf Nurkić and Beal had eight apiece, and McDaniels held Booker to just seven points on 3/9 shooting.

Minnesota led 34-22 in the paint, 9-0 in fast break points, and a had a whopping 21-6 advantage in bench points. But perhaps most importantly, they turned nine offensive rebounds into 16 second chance points while holding the Suns to just one offensive rebound and two second chance points.

The Suns quickly gave Wolves fans something to be uneasy about with a very quick 5-0 run in the first 50 second of the game. But Minnesota responded with a 8-2 run to get the lead back up to 11 on a Towns triple, paying off Conley drawing an offensive foul on Allen.

Beal came right back, though, following a flurry of hilariously hard Durant made jumpers with a put-back that drew a foul and a crazy step-back crossover move after dragging KAT out in isolation. Finch called a timeout to prevent any momentum from building.

His superstar guard responded by going to work in the mid-range with a beautiful jumper off-glass going left before hitting Booker with a step-through move for two.

Then, the defense turned it up to 10. An unreal contest on Beal. Then an unbelievable transition scramble drill resulting in NAW stealing an entry pass to Durant. Then Gobert forcing a Booker miss at the rim. While the Timberwolves didn’t pay off those stops with scores, it changed the tenor of the game. It was part of the Wolves’ holding the Suns without a field goal for the final 7:03 of the quarter.

Not even two downright terrible foul calls on Towns — his third and fourth — could change the vibes. Rudy turned into prime Dirk with an and-1 jumper, and then Edwards decided it was game over.

One mid-range jumper in Durant’s face. Then another. Then a 3-pointer in isolation. Then ANOTHER. Ant scored 10 straight for the Wolves, and let Durant know about it going down the other way, all while Durant was getting his on the other end.

“I think everybody knows that’s my favorite player of the all-time, so that was probably one of the best feelings ever in my whole life, for sure,” Edwards said postgame about the exchange with one of the game’s all-time greats.

“Yeah, you see [Durant] in the third quarter. I felt like we were supposed to be up 15, 18 in the third quarter early, and if I’m not mistaken he made like four or five straight buckets like it was nothing. And I became a fan at one point. Like, I was out there, like, ‘God damn, he nice.’ Like, there was nothing we could do,” Edwards said of Durant’s 10-point explosion on 4/4 shooting.

“KAT was playing great defense. Rudy was playing great defense. And it’s just like he don’t see ‘em. I’m looking at the stat sheet: He was 11 for 17. He missed six shots. He had 31. I mean, he’s the greatest to ever do it. I tip my hat to him.”

For good measure, he dimed up NAW for another triple to close the quarter on a 13-4 run and extend the lead to 92-72 when the horn sounded. Edwards scored or assisted on all 13 of the points on the run, in response to the officials taking Towns out of the game. He scored 18 points (of his game-high-tying 28 to that juncture) in the frame on 8/11 shooting. That’s called stepping up when your team needs it the most.

Edwards, who always starts the fourth quarter on the bench, remained on the floor to start the final frame, with Finch potentially thinking he could end this one early with a productive first five minutes.

Phoenix threw the first punch, drawing a pair of fouls on Conley (his fourth and fifth) to force him to the bench en route to a 5-0 start, cutting the lead to 15.

But Minnesota responded with the next four, and then nine of the next 11 behind three straight triples from Reid, NAW and Edwards to extend the lead to a game-high 25, 105-80, with 8:08 left to go.

Everything from there was just window dressing. O’Neale and Booker combined to score 11 points in under two minutes, which forced Finch to play his core guys longer than he’d want to, but both teams will get a couple days off before going back at it on Tuesday.

Edwards swiped the ball from an unsuspecting Durant and threw it down on the other end, officially marking the Suns’ Game 1 time of death at the 3:37 mark. Vogel pulled his main guys after that, and Finch followed suit after the next possession.

The Timberwolves took Game 1 120-95, a thorough domination to win their first game of the season against the Suns.

Edwards led the way for Minnesota with a game-high 33 points on 14/24 shooting, 4/8 3PT, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals, while Towns followed him with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and only two turnovers. Gobert recorded a double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds, while Alexander-Walker scored 18 points off the bench on 4/9 shooting from deep and was a team-high +28 off the bench. Reid scored 12 points and was a +22.

“I’m looking at [NAW’s] plus-minus. He was a plus-28 on the floor. I think he was the MVP tonight. He made every play that we needed offensively and defensively,” Edwards said of the invaluable wing stopper.

Durant scored a team-high 31 for Phoenix on 11/17 shooting, while Booker scored just 18 points on 5/16 shooting and Beal added 15. O’Neale paced Phoenix’s bench with 14 points as the only rotation bench player to score.

This story will be updated with key takeaways and quotes throughout the night after player and coach media availability.

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Key Takeaways

Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Making Defense Great Again

Unquestionably, the biggest takeaway from this one is that if these matchups are going to be officiated the way Game 1 was, the Timberwolves will have a massive advantage for the remainder of the series. When a team has to deal with 38 minutes (team-high!) of Jaden McDaniels defending its offensive engine without the ability to grift and flop for fouls, it is going to be a long game. Then, you add in 37 minutes of the soon-to-be four-time Defensive Player of the Year making everything difficult at all three levels, and 29 more of Nickeil Alexander-Walker out there to bridge the time McDaniels is on the bench? Good luck.

But beyond that, the Wolves’ coaching staff’s process with their defensive adjustments made a lot of sense. Towns checked Durant, with McDaniels on Booker, Edwards on Beal, Conley on Allen, and Gobert on Nurkić. After Nurk got destroyed on the glass early and struggled to defend in space, Phoenix went small. So the Wolves countered with a zone and made the Suns work for their looks, which worked great.

The result was the Suns shooting just 44.0% from the floor and 32.1% from deep, while turning it over 15 times for 23 Timberwolves points. Booker scored 18 points on 5/16 shooting, while Allen was limited to just four points on 0/3 shooting.

“We just battled them. Booker is so dangerous with the ball, Jaden just fights through everything. Keeps fighting, keeps fighting. The ball didn’t seem to find Allen as much, which was helpful,” Finch said postgame. “Mike is very good in those off-ball roles, but yeah, I think the ball went to KD a lot too and you got to pick your poison with these guys. They’re really tough.”

Finch also praised what Towns did to keep Durant somewhat in check while McDaniels, Edwards and Conley did their work on Booker, Beal and Allen.

KD is just an unbelievable player, such a tough cover, we just wanted put as much size on him as we possibly could, He had it going there. So many of those signature KD shots and you just have to live with them at times but I thought KAT really did a great job battling them, making it as hard as possible,” Finch added, specifically on Towns’ effort on Durant.

“It’s never feels like a win when someone’s scoring on you. You feel a little hopeless for sure, just got to go down and guard them again and try to make them miss.”

Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Winning Nearly Every Game Within the Game

Leading up to this game, I pointed out several key battles within the game that the Wolves would have to hold their own in, but focused on three key areas beyond the defensive assignments.

First up was offensive rebounding.

The Timberwolves absolutely demolished the Suns on the glass, collecting 13 offensive rebounds for 20 points, while holding Phoenix to just three offensive boards and six second chance points. Minnesota came in with a clear objective to weaponize their size and “play big” and they absolutely did that. Even if Phoenix was able to get a rebound, Minnesota still made it difficult — and that wears on a team. The Wolves earned four additional second chance possessions from balls going out of bounds to Minnesota, too.

“We’re going to play our bigs and that’s who we are. We need them to dominate any way they can. If they can get offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, cleaning up the glass, the next game it could be a completely different way they dominate a game,” Conley said postgame.

“We’re trying to utilize them as much as they can. I thought we did a great job of trusting each other tonight and allowing different guys to take over games at different points.

Gobert, Towns and Co. rebounded 11 of their 24 2-point misses (45.8%, a hilariously great number well above the league average of about 31.3%), and seven of their 20 3-point misses (35%, easily clearing the 22.8% league average). To cap it off, the Timberwolves shot 70.4% (19/27) on their shots at the rim, compared to the Suns’ 44.0% mark (11/25), and won 52-34 in the paint.

“It’s huge. That’s who we are. Regardless of what people say, size is still really important in basketball. We’ve got to use it,” Gobert said postgame. “We’ve got to keep using it every night and try to keep making their life as tough as possible.”

Next was the Conley vs. Allen matchup.

They are the two most efficient high-volume jump shooters in the NBA this season according to Synergy, but combined to shoot 0/6 from 3 and 2/15 from the floor. Conley played 27 minutes to Allen’s 25, as the Duke product left early with a right ankle injury. Each scored four points on bad shooting efficiency, but Minnesota Mike still managed to dish out seven assists to just one turnover. Additionally, Conley was important in taking Allen out of the game defensively, making sure the NBA’s 3-point percentage leader didn’t get clean looks. Both struggled, but you have to give the edge to Conley for what he brings beyond his scoring.

And finally, we had bench scoring.

The Suns had the lowest-scoring bench in the NBA this season (26.6 PPG), while the Timberwolves’ reserves ranked 21st (32.3 PPG). Phoenix needed to dominate the starters minutes like they did in the regular season if they wanted to make up for the projected canyon between the two bench units, and that didn’t happen on Saturday.

O’Neale was the only Sun to score off the bench (14 points on 4/8 3PT) before garbage time. Alexander-Walker out-scored O’Neale by himself (18 points on 7/12 FG), while Reid added 12 of his own, including a pair of huge 3s at opportune moment. Minnesota led 32-14 in reserve scoring before the benches cleared — a gap that is going to be difficult for Phoenix to improve upon consistently, especially if Allen misses time and thrusts either Eric Gordon — who went 0/5 in Game 1 — or Josh Okogie into the starting lineup.

Finch had a ton of praise for NAW and Naz postgame:

“They’ve been big for us all year, whether they’ve been coming off the bench, which they have largely, or playing starting roles for us, whether its Nickeil early or Naz late. We have so much confidence no matter what role they’re playing in or where we need them,” Finch said of his two star role players.

“I love their aggressiveness, being shot ready off the ball, defensively , naz is great on the glass as well, though he didn’t have a lot of numbers, he battled to get bodies off and stuff like that.”

“We talk about it, just going through the progression, ups and downs. It kind of motivates each other to keep shooting. If someone scores on us, they have to go on the other side and try to guard us as well,” Reid said about the impact he and NAW have.

“Just trying to motivate each other and going out there, put our best foot forward and compete, whether we make shots, defending or whatever the case may be, just going out there, competing, that’s how we motivate each other.”

Where does that consistent competing come from?

“I think just the grind,” Reid said. “Where we came from, we both weren’t high on the boards, I think we had to work to get to this time of the year. Just coming from where we come from, just helped us.”

Alexander-Walker echoed that sentiment.

“I agree, 100%. I had to learn what was going to get me to stick, and I had to learn what was gonna make me a better player. I gotta work. I’m not blessed in that way of taking the summer off, coming back and I’m the guy. So for me, it’s just enjoying that though. I love to play basketball. This is the game I love, I’ve wanted to be here since I was a kid. It’s everything I’ve dreamed of. So just putting in that work, trying to be great each and every day and improve,” NAW said.

“I think what Naz said is 100% true because it is a lot of hard work. And to be consistent it’s a lot of work. You gotta do it day in and day out. In this league, to have success, with so much talent from guys who don’t play to guys who do play, you gotta know that not every opportunity is just gonna be given to you, handed to you. And I’ve seen it first-hand through my experience. Starting, not starting, coming off the bench and playing, DNPs like crazy — like, I’ve been everywhere. So for me it’s just about what can I do to bring some peace to my life, some consistency each and every day. And that’s just working.”

Beyond those three battles, the Timberwolves won or tied in all these key areas:

• Overall rebounding: 52-28, Minnesota
• Fast break points: 13-10, Minnesota
• Turnovers (points off): 15(23) - 15(19), Minnesota
• Points in the paint: 52-34, Minnesota
• 3-point makes: 12-9, Minnesota
• 3-point efficiency: 37.5% - 32.1%, Minnesota
• Free throw makes: 20-20

Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

Depth Getting Tested

Each team may be down a player in Game 2. Kyle Anderson left Game 1 early for the Wolves with a right hip pointer, while Grayson Allen injured his right ankle in the second half and did not return. Anderson was limping heavily after the game.

Given how thin Phoenix is, Minnesota is certainly better equipped to handle an absence. Beyond that, the Wolves have the experience of filling in for guys, whether it be Anderson, Towns, McDaniels, or any other rotation player.

“I think for us, one thing that’s kinda been playing to our advantage is the next man up mentality. KAT went down a few times. Jaden has been down a few times. Everyone is just stepping up in whatever that role is,” Alexander-Walker said postgame.

“If we continue to have the mindset of putting the team first, and being prepared to play, and studying film, and knowing our roles, then if something is to happen, God forbid, or if we need to make an adjustment, everyone is prepared to do so. Because everyone has been humble and willing to make the right adjustments.”

The Suns normally turn to Gordon in the starting lineup in the case of a starter going out, but given that Allen defended Edwards, they may opt to start Okogie for some added defense so that they don’t have to continually bring extra defenders to Edwards. Either way, it’ll be interesting to monitor Anderson and Allen’s respective statuses.

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Rotation

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Edwards played the entire third quarter like he normally does, but then was back out there to start the fourth, which he never does. That was a sign that the Wolves wanted to put the game away early and prevent Phoenix from getting a rhythm offensively.

“There wasn’t no days off, man. I feel like I got in the best shape of my life this week. Finchy’s ass was running me through all types of actions, double teams, triple teams, quadruple teams. So I feel like I got in the best shape of my life, man,” Edwards said postgame.

“I played the whole third, started the fourth, and I really wasn’t gassed. So I thank my coaches, man, to the best of my ability. I appreciate them, man, putting me in the right positions and not worry about if I’m tired or not. Because this week, man, they were pushing me and I needed that.”

Towns barely played over the final 15 minutes, but (rather ticky tacky) foul calls forced him to the bench late in the third, when he was supposed to be in there to give Gobert a rest at the 5, like he did in the first quarter. Finch definitely prioritized defense with having all four of McDaniels, Gobert, NAW and Edwards out there for the majority of the fourth quarter.

Morris was likely going to be out of the rotation in this one, as he only checked in once Slow-Mo got hurt.

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Up Next

Minnesota and Phoenix will get a couple days off before running it back at Target Center for Game 2 on Tuesday night at 6:30 PM CT. Fans can watch the game either on TNT and or with Michael Grady and Jim Petersen on Bally Sports North.

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Highlights