Game ID: 22301194
Phoenix Suns @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Sunday, April 14, 2024 at 3:30 PM ET
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
MIN 22 31 25 28 106PHX 44 22 23 36 125
MIN vs PHX ScoutingMIN vs PHX Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
MIN availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restOUT Towns missed 15 since 3/07, out tonight
NEW Reid 24 to 31 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restOUT Towns missed 16 since 3/07, out tonight
NEW Reid 24 to 32 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backOUT Towns missed 17 since 3/07, out tonight
NEW McLaughlin 11 to 17 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restOUT Towns missed 18 since 3/07, returns tonight: 28 min (84% of 33)
NEW McLaughlin 11 to 16 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restBACK Towns back 4/12 after 18, 28 min since (84% of 33)
MIN availability going into 4/20 · 5 days' restBACK Towns back 4/12 after 18, 28 min since (87% of 33)
MIN availability going into 4/23 · 2 days' restBACK Towns back 4/12 after 18, 28 min since (85% of 33)
MIN availability going into 4/26 · 2 days' restBACK Towns back 4/12 after 18, 27 min since (82% of 33)
MIN availability going into 4/28 · 1 day's restBACK Towns back 4/12 after 18, 26 min since (80% of 33)
PHX availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 3/29 after 2, 9 min since (57% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 3/29 after 2, 9 min since (57% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backBACK Okogie back 4/05 after 2, 3 min since (17% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 4/05 after 2, 2 min since (14% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 4/05 after 2, 2 min since (14% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/20 · 5 days' rest
full strength
PHX availability going into 4/23 · 2 days' rest
full strength
PHX availability going into 4/26 · 2 days' rest
full strength
PHX availability going into 4/28 · 1 day's restNEW Beal 34 to 39 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 111, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Edwards at 27 and Gobert at 16 a game. One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 104, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 21 free throws a game; Durant at 24 and Beal at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the defense, Phoenix allowing 104 a night to Minnesota's 111. Call it Minnesota 112, Phoenix 108, Phoenix keeping it close.
4/07 @ LAL 127-117 — MIN notes
MIN won 127-117. MIN shot 52% (50 of 97) to LAL's 46%, 15 of 39 from three, and got to the line 14 times to LAL's 32. Reid led with 31 (12 of 16, 6 of 8 from three); Edwards added 26, Gobert 18. The hinge was Q2, 46-27: MIN came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 15, and the lead reached 20. Conley was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
4/09 vs WAS 130-121 — MIN notes
MIN won 130-121. MIN shot 48% (43 of 90) to WAS's 49%, 18 of 41 from three, and went to the line 32 times to WAS's 17 — 26 points from the stripe to their 13. MIN turned it over 8 times to WAS's 13. Edwards led with 51 (17 of 29, 6 of 13 from three, 11 of 11 at the line); Alexander-Walker added 23, Gobert 19. The hinge was Q3, 39-24: MIN came in trailing by 10 and left it ahead by 5, and the lead reached 15. MIN trailed 60-70 at the half and won the second half 70-51. Alexander-Walker was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
4/10 @ DEN 107-116 — MIN notes
MIN lost 107-116. MIN shot 50% (41 of 82) to DEN's 55%, 13 of 30 from three. Edwards led with 25 (9 of 18, 2 of 6 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Conley added 19, Gobert 13. Q1 was theirs, 28-26, but the other 3 periods went 90-79 against them. Gobert's -17 in 39 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/12 vs ATL 109-106 — MIN notes
MIN won 109-106. MIN shot 48% (38 of 79) to ATL's 44%, 10 of 37 from three. Gobert led with 25 (10 of 10, 5 of 8 at the line); Reid added 19, Edwards 14. The hinge was Q2, 31-20: MIN came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 9, and the lead reached 17.
4/14 vs PHX 106-125 — MIN notes
MIN lost 106-125. MIN shot 51% (36 of 70) to PHX's 55%, 9 of 26 from three, and went to the line 31 times to PHX's 18 — 25 points from the stripe to their 15. MIN turned it over 24 times to PHX's 12, and PHX turned those into 13 steals. Gobert led with 21 (7 of 9, 7 of 9 at the line); Conley added 17, Edwards 13. Q2 was theirs, 31-22, the deficit cut from 22 to 13, but the other 3 periods went 103-75 against them. Edwards's -21 in 35 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/20 vs PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Gobert at 19 a game. 5 days' rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 108, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Beal at 27 and Booker at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. 5 days' rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the defense, Phoenix allowing 108 a night to Minnesota's 117 and the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-1 a night and Phoenix minus-5. Call it Minnesota 114, Phoenix 111, Phoenix keeping it close.
4/23 vs PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Edwards at 27 and Gobert at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 21 free throws a game; Durant at 24 and Beal at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-5 a night and Phoenix minus-9 and the line, where Minnesota takes 27 free throws a game to Phoenix's 21. Call it Minnesota 114, Phoenix 109.
4/26 @ PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 24 and Durant at 23 a game. 2 days' rest. Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 107, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Edwards at 20 and Gobert at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-4 a night and Phoenix minus-3 and the line, where Minnesota takes 27 free throws a game to Phoenix's 19. Call it Phoenix 111, Minnesota 110, Minnesota keeping it close.
4/28 @ PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Durant at 23 and Beal at 23 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 33 from three, 29 free throws a game; Edwards at 22 and Gobert at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-10 a night and Phoenix minus-8 and the arc, Phoenix at 40 percent from three to Minnesota's 33. Call it Minnesota 111, Phoenix 110, Phoenix keeping it close.
4/07 vs NOP 105-113 — PHX notes
PHX lost 105-113. PHX shot 45% (39 of 87) to NOP's 47%, 14 of 39 from three. Beal led with 33 (13 of 19, 7 of 8 from three); Booker added 25, Durant 23. Q1 was theirs, 26-19, but the other 3 periods went 94-79 against them. They led by as many as 13. Durant's -12 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/09 vs LAC 92-105 — PHX notes
PHX lost 92-105. PHX shot 34% (30 of 89) to LAC's 47%, 8 of 35 from three, and went to the line 28 times to LAC's 11 — 24 points from the stripe to their 11. PHX turned it over 8 times to LAC's 18. The glass went 38-63 against them. Durant led with 21 (8 of 22, 2 of 5 from three); Beal added 19, Booker 12. Q3 was theirs, 35-18, the deficit cut from 33 to 16, but the other 3 periods went 87-57 against them. Eubanks's -20 in 12 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/10 @ LAC 124-108 — PHX notes
PHX won 124-108. PHX shot 48% (46 of 95) to LAC's 46%, 18 of 50 from three. Booker led with 37 (13 of 24, 5 of 12 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Beal added 26, Durant 24. The hinge was Q4, 32-15: PHX came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 16. PHX trailed 55-56 at the half and won the second half 69-52. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
4/12 @ SAC 108-107 — PHX notes
PHX won 108-107. PHX shot 53% (40 of 76) to SAC's 44%, 12 of 32 from three. PHX turned it over 18 times to SAC's 7, and SAC turned those into 12 steals. Durant led with 28 (11 of 20, 3 of 7 from three); Booker added 21, Beal 20. The hinge was Q4, 30-22: PHX came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 1. PHX trailed 45-54 at the half and won the second half 63-53. Beal was the night's best plus/minus at +8.
4/14 @ MIN 125-106 — PHX notes
PHX won 125-106. PHX shot 55% (47 of 86) to MIN's 51%, 16 of 29 from three, and got to the line 18 times to MIN's 31. PHX turned it over 12 times to MIN's 24. Beal led with 36 (14 of 21, 6 of 6 from three); Booker added 23, Allen 20. The hinge was Q1, 44-22: from level to 22 ahead. Durant was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
4/20 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Gobert at 19 a game. 5 days' rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 108, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Beal at 27 and Booker at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. 5 days' rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the defense, Phoenix allowing 108 a night to Minnesota's 117 and the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-1 a night and Phoenix minus-5. Call it Minnesota 114, Phoenix 111, Phoenix keeping it close.
4/23 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Edwards at 27 and Gobert at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 21 free throws a game; Durant at 24 and Beal at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-5 a night and Phoenix minus-9 and the line, where Minnesota takes 27 free throws a game to Phoenix's 21. Call it Minnesota 114, Phoenix 109.
4/26 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 24 and Durant at 23 a game. 2 days' rest. Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 107, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Edwards at 20 and Gobert at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-4 a night and Phoenix minus-3 and the line, where Minnesota takes 27 free throws a game to Phoenix's 19. Call it Phoenix 111, Minnesota 110, Minnesota keeping it close.
4/28 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Durant at 23 and Beal at 23 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 33 from three, 29 free throws a game; Edwards at 22 and Gobert at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-10 a night and Phoenix minus-8 and the arc, Phoenix at 40 percent from three to Minnesota's 33. Call it Minnesota 111, Phoenix 110, Phoenix keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXBB B. Beal
BB B. Bol
DB D. Booker
DE D. Eubanks
DR D. Roddy
GA G. Allen
IT I. Thomas
JN J. Nurkić
JO J. Okogie
KD K. Durant
NL N. Little
NU Nurkic
RO R. O'Neale
TY T. Young
MINAE A. Edwards
JM J. McDaniels
JM J. McLaughlin
JM J. Minott
KA K. Anderson
KT K. Towns
LG L. Garza
LM L. Miller
MC M. Conley
MM M. Morris
NA N. Alexander-Walker
NR N. Reid
RG R. Gobert
WM W. Moore Jr.
PHX/MIN the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Suns skip play-in by toppling T-wolves 125-106 to set up 1st-round rematch
MINNEAPOLIS -- — Bradley Beal scored 36 points on 6-for-6 shooting from 3-point range and the Phoenix Suns beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-106 on Sunday to stay out of the play-in tournament and set up a rematch in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
“It’s a snapshot of what we look like when we can be at our best,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said.
Devin Booker added 23 points and Grayson Allen had 20 points for the Suns (49-33). They built a 22-point lead by the end of the first quarter and never let the deficit drop into single digits after that.
“We’ve been playing well. Whether it’s our best, we probably still don’t know,” Beal said. “I think we’re definitely hitting our stride at the right time.”
Phoenix finished the regular season on a 10-4 surge and seized the No. 6 seed when New Orleans lost at home to the Los Angeles Lakers . The Suns held the tiebreaker over the Pelicans. After entering the final day in a three-way tie for the Western Conference lead with Denver and Oklahoma City, Minnesota took the No. 3 seed when the Nuggets and Thunder each won.
The Wolves will host Game 1 of the best-of-seven series next weekend. After losing all three games to the Suns this season, they've got a lot of work to do next week.
“We can’t just look at the numbers or box scores and think that we can come out and just run through the series,” Beal said. “It’s going to be a tough grind-it-out game every single night.”
Rudy Gobert had 21 points and seven rebounds and Mike Conley scored 17 points for the Wolves, who matched their season worst with 24 turnovers and gave up 13 offensive rebounds to the Suns in this lackluster performance. They fell to 32-4 when shooting 50% or better.
Beal also took the lead in defending All-Star Anthony Edwards , who didn't make a shot in the second half and finished with 13 points.
“They were loading up on the gaps. If he was able to punch a gap, there was a third guy right there, too. But he’s got to find ways to be aggressive outside of that,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “He’s got to play a little quicker.”
The Timberwolves (56-26) still finished with the second-best record in their 35-year history, behind only the 2003-04 team led by league MVP Kevin Garnett that went 58-24 and lost to the Lakers in the conference finals.
The Suns, who held out sixth-man Eric Gordon because of a migraine headache, served notice that they'll pose a fierce challenge in the first round for the Wolves, pestering them into poor decisions with the ball and checking the NBA's best defense with a hot shooting start.
As Finch was hollering at the officials late in the second quarter for an early foul discrepancy the Wolves felt was unfair, Beal taunted Finch as he jogged by the bench. Finch jawed right back, and Edwards quickly came to his coach's defense by giving Beal a shove. The two guards, who were both given technical fouls, were separated by their respective teams before they did any damage.
Even before this, the Suns had the Wolves' attention. Their worst offensive game (87 points scored) and worst defensive game (133 points allowed) of this season both came against the Suns. Then they started this game with 11 turnovers in the first quarter alone that led to 17 points for the Suns.
“They play fast, and they have a lot of guys who make multiple reads and plays,” Conley said. “We’ll have to adjust and see where we go.”