This is Chris Hine's live report from Target Center on Tuesday night, from final horn to pregame. To read Chris' final report on Game 2, go here.
In Game 1, the Timberwolves showed they could at least defeat the Suns. Pre Rolled Packaging
In Game 2, the Timberwolves proved they could actually beat the Suns. That is, not just win a game, but knock them down, wear them out and perhaps make the Suns question if they have a chance in this series.
The Wolves followed their resounding Game 1 victory with another body blow to the Suns with a 105-93 victory Tuesday night at Target Center and took a 2-0 NBA Western Conference quarterfinal playoff series lead behind a strong second half. All this despite Anthony Edwards scoring just 15 points on 3-for-12 and Karl-Anthony Towns scoring only 12.
The Wolves, who lost all three regular season games to the Suns, got a monster game from Jaden McDaniels on both ends of the floor, as McDaniels scored 25 points and had eight rebounds while defending Devin Booker and Kevin Durant all night. Mike Conley added 18.
The Wolves entered the fourth quarter ahead 78-71 and made the decisive run of the game with Edwards resting. The opened the fourth with a 15-5 run, and after McDaniels cruised to the hoop for two straight layups, Phoenix coach Frank Vogel used his last timeout with 7 minutes, 51 seconds to play as his team looked gassed, worn down by the Wolves' physical play, especially on the defensive end.
Instead of the Wolves losing their composure with officials, as has happened in playoffs past, it was Vogel who manifested the internal desperation the Suns might be feeling as he earned a technical in the fourth quarter while jumping up and down in hysterics after a foul.
The Suns had two off days — Game 3 is Friday night in Phoenix —to figure out how to combat the Wolves' defense, and they came up empty. Booker had 20 points and fouled out with 2:17 to play. Durant had 18 on 6-for-15 while Bradley Beal had 14 points on 6-for-17.
As the game wound down, the crowd engaged in a few "Wolves in four" chants.
The Wolves' defense had a strong stretch in the third quarter that enabled them to get a 78-71 lead after three quarters.
The Wolves went on a 12-0 run that extended across 4:07 that allowed them to turn a 63-60 deficit into a 72-63 lead, tied for their largest of the night to that point.
Anthony Edwards made a concerted effort to score after going 1-for-5 in the first half. He was 1-for-5 from the floor again, but he had five free throws and was up to 12.
Jaden McDaniels had 18 points by the end of the quarter as his offense came at the right time for the Wolves throughout the night.
Karl-Anthony Towns returned after sitting out the second quarter with three fouls, but picked up No. 4 before the end of the third quarter. He has 10 points.
Suns guard Grayson Allen, playing despite a sprained ankle, had to leave the game in the third quarter.
Despite Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards combining for just one field goal, the Timberwolves trail the Suns 51-50 at halftime.
Towns sat out the second quarter with three fouls.
The Wolves' offensive woes continued to begin the second, but Mike Conley helped save them. Conley rebounded from a tough Game 1 to have 14 first-half points.
Jaden McDaniels had 12 in the first half as Edwards struggled to get going with five points on 1-for-5 shooting.
The Wolves bench is also struggling after a strong first game. Naz Reid was 0-for-3 and Nickeil Alexander-Walker was 1-for-6.
The Wolves shot just 4-for-15 from three-point range in the first half.
Devin Booker leads Phoenix with 13, seven coming at the free-throw line.
Frustration began to manifest itself in the second quarter at the 4:15 mark after McDaniels and Booker got in a quick shoving match fouling a Booker foul on McDaniels.
Officials reviewed the play and assessed a technical on McDaniels.
The first quarter was full of emotional swings as the Wolves jumped out to an 8-0 lead and had Target Center jumping.
But Phoenix was able to settle down from there, and the Wolves held on for a 24-21 lead by quarter's end.
Rudy Gobert was 4-for-4 for the Wolves for eight points, but they were 4-for-14 outside of Gobert.
It didn't help the Wolves that Karl-Anthony Towns got in foul trouble, as he picked up three fouls in eight minutes.
Phoenix ended Game 1 with a significant deficit on the glass against the Wolves, but the Suns held an 11-10 rebounding edge and had seven second-chance points.
The Wolves defense held Phoenix to just 7-for-20 from the field while Devin Booker was 2-for-7, but he had four points at the free-throw line.
Top reserve Kyle Anderson is active for the Timberwolves despite a hip pointer, and is going through pregame warmups.
Suns coach Frank Vogel said Grayson Allen, the league's top three-point shooter, is available to play after Allen sprained his ankle in the third quarter of Game 1. Vogel said Allen's ankle was still sore but that Allen wasn't going to miss a playoff game.
Wolves coach Chris Finch said the status of Kyle Anderson, who left Game 1 because of a hip pointer, is "to be determined."
Finch was asked about how Jaden McDaniels is such an effective defender; in Game 1 he helped limit Devin Booker to 5-for-16. Finch spoke about McDaniels' competitive streak.
"He's got a really high care factor," Finch said. "He competes on every single play. Sometimes we have to remind him that the game is not 100 possessions. It's not 100 single battles. But that's how he approaches it. He just wants to win every single one and you can see how it bothers him when somebody does get the best of him. Of course he's learning more and more these guys and their individual tendencies.
"He has great length, can battle through and doesn't ever give up on a play. Just all the things you want at a point of attack defender."
The officials tonight are Josh Tiven, Dedric Taylor and crew chief Zach Zarba.
The Timberwolves and Suns have Game 2 of their NBA Western Conference semifinal series tonight, with tip-off at (around) 6:30. The game is on TNT and Bally Sports North.
After the Timberwolves won by 25 in Game 1 on Saturday, Phoenix is sure to come out with a different game plan based on how the Wolves played Saturday. The challenge for the Wolves is anticipating what those adjustments might be and seeing if they can cut off some of what Phoenix might attempt to do differently against them.
"You can try," point guard Mike Conley said at Tuesday's shootaround. "Part of our preparation is to do our best job with predicting what they might try to do. Last game, sometimes you can watch the film and pick out a couple of possessions where you see something that might've worked for them and they might try to do that more often or might try to play at this pace or that pace."
The Suns are likely to try all they can to get Devin Booker more open after Booker went 5-for-16 in Game 1. Meanwhile, Conley is looking to bounce back from a tough Game 1 for himself in which he shot just 2-for-12.
"I haven't thought about it at all," Conley said. "I play these games really game to game for me. I didn't make many, but I think next game I'll make a lot. And then the next game, it'll be Nickeil [Alexander-Walker] or Naz [Reid] or Kyle [Anderson], whoever it may be. I really don't care this time of year. It's about getting the W. Our guys are all confident. I'm confident in myself. I'll be ready to go Game 2."
The Wolves entered the game with Anderson questionable because of a hip pointer he suffered in Game 1. The Suns' Grayson Allen (ankle) is also questionable.
Chris Hine is the Timberwolves reporter at the Star Tribune.
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