PHOENIX (AP) — Minnesota star Anthony Edwards watched early in the third quarter as the Phoenix Suns changed their defense, playing him one-on-one most of the time instead of using double teams from the first half.
The budding superstar took it as a challenge.
“It was like – you have to beat us,” Edwards said. “And I showed them.”
Edwards scored 31 of his 40 points in the second half, Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 points and the Timberwolves beat the Suns 122-116 on Sunday night to clinch a first-round playoff series.
The Timberwolves’ two best players took them to the second round. AP correspondent Dave Ferry reports.
The franchise’s first playoff series win in 20 years Coach Chris Finch left the game After an unintentional collision with Wolves guard Mike Conley late in the fourth. The team said he suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee.
Edwards finished 13 of 23 from the field, including 7 of 13 from 3-point range. 22 year old threw a powerful, one-handed jam to give Minnesota a 115–111 lead with 2:14 remaining.
“We’ve watched him grow as a leader, as a player, as a man,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said. “it’s been fun.”
Phoenix will never recover.
The Wolves defeated the Suns despite Devin Booker’s 49 points on 13-of-21 shooting. He also made 20 out of 21 free throws. Kevin Durant added 33 runs, but the rest of the team struggled.
Assistant coach Mika Nori replaced Finch for the final 1:41 and the Wolves closed with relative ease.
“Everyone has their role, everyone supports each other,” Nori said. “I know it sounds weird, but it’s the next guy up, even with the coaching staff.”
Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels scored 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting and the Wolves had a 44-33 rebounding advantage.
It was a tough fourth quarter and the Suns tied it at 107 with 4:30 remaining on Royce O’Neale’s 3-pointer. Edwards and Jaden McDaniels hit back-to-back corner 3s to put the Wolves ahead 113–109 with 3:20 remaining.
The Wolves are now waiting to see if they will face the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers in the second round.
“Their whole team created a lot of problems for us,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “Role players, stars. Anthony Edwards is a special, special talent. And their bigs played really well.”
Edwards hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the third and McDaniels followed with a powerful dunk, helping Minnesota turn a six-point deficit into a 68–66 lead. It was part of a big three for Edwards, who hit four 3-pointers and had 15 points.
Booker responded, scoring 18 points during the quarter and the Suns took a 92–90 lead into the fourth. It was a tough game for three-time All-Star Bradley Beal, who scored only nine points on 4 of 13 shooting before fouling out.
“They were late acting and we didn’t,” Booker said.
The Suns took a number of looks at the Wolves in the first half, using five perimeter players at different times to try to draw big men Gobert and Towns away from the basket.
Booker hit a fallaway jumper at the buzzer to give the Suns a 61–56 lead at halftime. Durant led Phoenix with 20 points before the break, while Booker had 17 points. Towns had 15 points for the Wolves.
Suns guard Grayson Allen missed his second consecutive game due to an ankle sprain suffered in Game 1, which worsened in Game 2. He averaged 13.5 points per game and led the NBA in 3-point percentage during the regular season.
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