Jaden McDaniels scored 25 goals to help the Timberwolves overcome the Suns and take a 2-0 series lead
MINNEAPOLIS — Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points for a career best in the playoffs and led another stifling team defensive performance Minnesota Timberwolf in a 105-93 victory over the past phoenix sun to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series on Tuesday night.
Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert each added 18 points to help the Timberwolves make up for the Suns' loss of Anthony Edwards, who held the All-Star to 15 points after allowing him 33 in the opener. Edwards went 3-for-12 from the floor.
The teams will travel to Phoenix for Game 3 on Friday night. Minnesota has held a 2-0 series lead just one other time in franchise history, against Denver in the first round in 2004 en route to a 4-1 series win.
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Devin Booker scored 20 points, Kevin Durant added 18 and sixth man Eric Gordon had 15 for the Suns, who again failed to execute their high-octane offense. The big three of Booker, Durant and Bradley Beal combined to shoot 18-for-45, with McDaniels leading the charge in the slump.
After trailing by eight points in the second half and trailing 51-50 at halftime, the Suns slumped while Karl-Anthony Towns (12 points) continued after early foul trouble.
Phoenix lost starting guard Grayson Allen to an aggravated ankle sprain in the third quarter, in which the Wolves used a 12-0 run to create some breathing room. Edwards sank a 22-footer from Durant on that surge to make it 70-63, and the momentum — and crowd noise — carried over into the fourth quarter.
Conley found Gobert with a bounce pass from a pick-and-roll for an easy shot and an 84-76 lead, which the Wolves then extended to 19 points before the 17-year veteran point guard swung A 3-point corner kick made the whole arena excited. “Wolves in 4!” chant appears in the final minutes.
The Wolves used their stifling defense to stop two-thirds of Phoenix's big threes and a large amount of Edwards on offense to pull out a 25-point win in Game 1 on Saturday.
Suns coach Frank Vogel said the 22-year-old rising star needs to see five people every time he has the ball, and the Suns never hesitate to send multiple defenders into his space.
The Timberwolves had trouble making them pay, shooting 9-for-32 from 3-point range. The bench production that helped them dominate the opener has waned. This time the whistle sounded tighter, leading to Towns being called for three fouls in a costly first half, keeping him out of the game until halftime.
But McDaniels, Gobert and whoever else attacked the basket wisely, ensuring that the Wolves could take advantage of their size advantage inside.
They also passed the maturity test. Booker slammed his forearm into McDaniels after a stray elbow, causing McDaniels to make an ill-advised shove that earned him a technical foul. But the fiery 23-year-old boy recovered well afterward.
Jusuf Nurkic (10 points, 14 rebounds) helped neutralize some award-winning defense and changed Gobert's shot. After the Timberwolves set a franchise playoff record with a plus-24 rebounding margin, the Suns had a 41-39 advantage.
