Game ID: 22301125
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Phoenix Suns
Friday, April 5, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET
Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
PHX 32 25 20 20 97MIN 20 21 20 26 87
MIN @ PHX ScoutingMIN @ 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.
PHX availability going into 3/27 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 3/23 after 10, 10 min since (62% of 16)
PHX availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Okogie missed 2 since 3/25, returns tonight: 14 min (88% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/01 · 2 days' restBACK Okogie back 3/23 after 10, 12 min since (75% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/03 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 3/23 after 10, 12 min since (75% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/05 · 1 day's restOUT Okogie missed 2 since 4/01, returns tonight: 4 min (26% of 16)
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)
MIN availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Towns missed 10 since 3/07, out tonight
BACK Gobert back 3/22 after 3, 36 min since (106% of 34)
NEW Anderson 21 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW McLaughlin 11 to 17 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restOUT Towns missed 11 since 3/07, out tonight
BACK Gobert back 3/22 after 3, 36 min since (105% of 34)
NEW Reid 24 to 30 min over the last 4
MIN availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restOUT Towns missed 12 since 3/07, out tonight
BACK Gobert back 3/22 after 3, 36 min since (106% of 34)
NEW Reid 24 to 30 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 4/03 · back-to-backOUT Towns missed 13 since 3/07, out tonight
NEW Reid 24 to 31 min over the last 5
MIN availability going into 4/05 · 1 day's restOUT Towns missed 14 since 3/07, out tonight
NEW Reid 24 to 31 min over the last 5
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
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 111 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 16 free throws a game; Booker at 32 and Durant at 27 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Okogie (2 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 98, shooting 51 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Edwards at 21 and Reid at 18 a game. Without Towns (14 straight). One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-8 a night and Minnesota minus-2 and the defense, Minnesota allowing 98 a night to Phoenix's 108. Call it Minnesota 111, Phoenix 109, Phoenix keeping it close.
3/27 @ DEN 104-97 — PHX notes
PHX won 104-97. PHX shot 47% (39 of 83) to DEN's 43%, 16 of 33 from three. PHX turned it over 16 times to DEN's 8, and DEN turned those into 9 steals. The glass went 51-38 for them. Durant led with 30 (12 of 20, 3 of 4 from three); Booker added 17, Allen 13. The hinge was Q2, 30-23: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 15. Young was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
3/29 @ OKC 103-128 — PHX notes
PHX lost 103-128. PHX shot 45% (39 of 87) to OKC's 56%, 13 of 41 from three. Durant led with 26 (10 of 17, 4 of 7 from three); Beal added 15, Booker 14. Q1 was theirs, 32-34, but the other 3 periods went 94-71 against them. Nurkić's -22 in 23 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/01 @ NOP 124-111 — PHX notes
PHX won 124-111. PHX shot 49% (43 of 87) to NOP's 47%, 18 of 47 from three. The glass went 49-37 for them. Booker led with 52 (19 of 28, 8 of 16 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Durant added 20, Nurkić 19. The hinge was Q1, 46-28: from level to 18 ahead, and the lead reached 27. Nurkić was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
4/03 vs CLE 122-101 — PHX notes
PHX won 122-101. PHX shot 51% (44 of 87) to CLE's 47%, 18 of 33 from three. Booker led with 40 (13 of 25, 5 of 9 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Durant added 32, O'Neale 17. The hinge was Q1, 34-20: from level to 14 ahead, and the lead reached 28. Gordon was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
4/05 vs MIN 97-87 — PHX notes
PHX won 97-87. PHX shot 43% (33 of 76) to MIN's 39%, 9 of 26 from three, and went to the line 29 times to MIN's 14 — 22 points from the stripe to their 11. Allen led with 23 (6 of 14, 4 of 8 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Durant added 22, Beal 14. The hinge was Q1, 32-20: from level to 12 ahead, and the lead reached 23. Durant was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
4/07 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 105, shooting 47 percent and 41 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 27 and Durant at 26 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; McCollum at 26 and Williamson at 24 a game. That is 4 straight losses. Without Ingram (8 straight), Alvarado (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-7 a night and New Orleans minus-3 and the arc, Phoenix at 41 percent from three to New Orleans's 35. Call it Phoenix 113, New Orleans 109, New Orleans keeping it close.
4/09 vs LAC — 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 110 a night and allowing 108, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Booker at 29 and Durant at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; George at 28 and Powell at 15 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Leonard (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the line, where the Clippers take 27 free throws a game to Phoenix's 20 and the turnovers, Phoenix giving it away 15 times a game to the Clippers' 12. Call it Phoenix 113, the Clippers 112, the Clippers keeping it close.
4/10 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 104, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; George at 24 and Harden at 15 a game. That is 4 straight wins. They have won the glass by 5 a night. Without Leonard (5 straight), Theis (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 103, shooting 44 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Booker at 28 and Durant at 24 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the glass, where the Clippers have been plus-5 a night and Phoenix minus-1. Call it the Clippers 112, Phoenix 109, Phoenix keeping it close.
4/12 @ SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 43 percent and 36 from three, 17 free throws a game; Fox at 31 and Murray at 16 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 103, shooting 44 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Booker at 25 and Durant at 24 a game. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-3 a night and Phoenix minus-3 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 103 a night to Sacramento's 109. Call it Phoenix 112, Sacramento 111, Sacramento keeping it close.
3/29 @ DEN 111-98 — MIN notes
MIN won 111-98. MIN shot 51% (38 of 74) to DEN's 40%, 9 of 28 from three, and went to the line 37 times to DEN's 27 — 26 points from the stripe to their 20. MIN turned it over 7 times to DEN's 12. Edwards led with 25 (8 of 19, 0 of 8 from three, 9 of 10 at the line); Conley added 23, Gobert 21. The hinge was Q2, 29-17: a lead of 7 became 19, and the lead reached 26. Anderson was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
3/31 vs CHI 101-109 — MIN notes
MIN lost 101-109. MIN shot 47% (38 of 81) to CHI's 52%, 11 of 37 from three, and went to the line 21 times to CHI's 12 — 14 points from the stripe to their 8. Edwards led with 22 (9 of 20, 0 of 5 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Gobert added 19, Conley 19. Q3 was theirs, 25-20, the deficit cut from 10 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 89-76 against them. Anderson's -12 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/02 vs HOU 113-106 — MIN notes
MIN won 113-106. MIN shot 53% (41 of 77) to HOU's 45%, 11 of 26 from three, and went to the line 22 times to HOU's 14 — 20 points from the stripe to their 10. Reid led with 25 (10 of 17, 3 of 5 from three); Edwards added 21, Conley 14. The hinge was Q2, 38-22: MIN came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 9, and the lead reached 15. McLaughlin was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
4/03 vs TOR 133-85 — MIN notes
MIN won 133-85. MIN shot 51% (49 of 96) to TOR's 37%, 20 of 43 from three, and went to the line 22 times to TOR's 14 — 15 points from the stripe to their 12. MIN turned it over 9 times to TOR's 20. Edwards led with 28 (10 of 23, 5 of 12 from three); Reid added 23, Garza 16. The hinge was Q4, 42-25: a lead of 31 became 48. Gobert was the night's best plus/minus at +33.
4/05 @ PHX 87-97 — MIN notes
MIN lost 87-97. MIN took 9 more shots (85 to 76), but shot 39% to PHX's 43%, 10 of 29 from three, and got to the line 14 times to PHX's 29. Edwards led with 17 (6 of 19, 2 of 6 from three); Alexander-Walker added 13. Q4 was theirs, 26-20, the deficit cut from 16 to 10, but the other 3 periods went 77-61 against them. Conley's -27 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/07 @ LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 108, shooting 51 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; James at 26 and Davis at 25 a game. That is 4 straight wins. They have won the glass by 6 a night. Without Reddish (3 straight), Vanderbilt (28 straight), Wood (22 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 99, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Edwards at 23 and Reid at 15 a game. Without Towns (15 straight). One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where the Lakers have been plus-6 a night and Minnesota minus-3 and the defense, Minnesota allowing 99 a night to the Lakers' 108. Call it Minnesota 111, the Lakers 110, the Lakers keeping it close.
4/09 vs WAS — 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 103, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Edwards at 23 and Reid at 20 a game. Without Towns (16 straight). One day's rest. Washington comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 119, shooting 47 percent and 31 from three, 22 free throws a game; Poole at 23 and Avdija at 20 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Jones (13 straight), Holmes (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 103 a night to Washington's 119 and the arc, Minnesota at 39 percent from three to Washington's 31. Call it Minnesota 118, Washington 108, Minnesota by 10.
4/10 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 103, shooting 51 percent and 44 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 30 and Gordon at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Gordon (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 105, shooting 49 percent and 42 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 29 and Reid at 18 a game. Without Towns (17 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-5 a night and Minnesota plus-1. Call it Denver 112, Minnesota 110, Minnesota keeping it close.
4/12 vs ATL — 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 117 a night and allowing 107, shooting 48 percent and 42 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 29 and Reid at 16 a game. Without Towns (18 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 119, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 19 free throws a game; Murray at 21 and Hunter at 20 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the arc, Minnesota at 42 percent from three to Atlanta's 33 and the defense, Minnesota allowing 107 a night to Atlanta's 119. Call it Minnesota 119, Atlanta 109, Minnesota by 10.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXBB B. Beal
BB B. Bol
DB D. Booker
DE D. Eubanks
EG E. Gordon
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
UA U. Azubuike
MINAE A. Edwards
JM J. McDaniels
JM J. McLaughlin
JM J. Minott
KA K. Anderson
LG L. Garza
LM L. Miller
MC M. Conley
MM M. Morris
NA N. Alexander-Walker
NR N. Reid
RG R. Gobert
TW T. Warren
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 score game's 1st 15 points, cruise past Timberwolves 97-87
PHOENIX -- — Grayson Allen scored 23 points, Kevin Durant had 22 and the Phoenix Suns raced to a 15-0 lead in a 97-87 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
Bradley Beal had 14 points for the Suns, who have won four straight home games. Devin Booker , coming off games with 52 and 40 points, finished with 13 points and 13 assists. His only 3-pointer of the night gave the Suns a 94-72 lead with 4:02 remaining.
Jusuf Nurkic , who was a game-time decision with a left calf injury, played 26 minutes and had 11 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.
It was only the fourth time the Suns didn't score 100 points in a game, but it was the first time in those games that they won.
“This was one of our best communication games of the season,” Allen said abou the Suns' defensive effort. “Just great all around.”
All five Suns starters scored in the 15-0 run, capped by Beal with a dunk. Minnesota finally scored when Mike Conley made two free throws with 7:35 left in the quarter.
“We had eight turnovers in the first quarter. We fought the game the whole time,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We didn’t make the easy pass when it was there and when we did have opportunities at the rim we didn’t finish strong. A complete breakdown offensively.”
“We’ve been playing better than this offensively, and it was on us to be able to finish some of the opportunities we did create, and I got to do a better job of giving these guys some solutions too.”
The Suns led 32-20 after the first quarter, 57-41 at halftime and were never in danger after that, with Minnesota scoring the final 13 points of the game to make the final score closer. Phoenix (46-31) held on to the No. 6 position in the Western Conference. Minnesota (53-24) is tied with Denver for the best record in the West.
Anthony Edwards struggled from the field, making just 6 of 19 shots and finishing with 17 points. Durant had most of the coverage on the All-Star guard.
“He’s tough. He moves so smooth and effortlessly," Durant said about Edwards. "We did a solid job of forcing tough shots, not putting him on the free-throw line, and getting out and running.”
Nickell Alexander-Walker was the only other Timberwolves player in double figures with 13 points. Naz Reid had 11 rebounds.
Neither team was especially efficient — Minnesota had 19 turnovers and Phoenix had 18. The Suns scored 24 points off the Timberwolves' mistakes.
The Suns won the teams’ previous meeting, 133-115 Nov. 15 in Phoenix — the most points the Timberwolves have allowed in a game this season. This time, Minnesota's 87 points marked the lowest total by the Timberwolves as well as the fewest permitted by the Suns this season.
“We just keep improving,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “We don't want to be a good defense, we want to be a great defense. Guys have responded. (Nurkic) has really grown throughout the season as a rim defender, blocking everything that's coming to the basket, trusting his teammates to go attack.”
Minnesota is still without Karl-Anthony Towns (left meniscus tear), who the Timberwolves hope will be back before the end of the regular season. He last played March 4.
Each team has five games remaining after tonight. The teams finish the season against each other April 14 in Minneapolis.
NEXT
Timberwolves: At Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.