The Timberwolves won game one of their first round Western Conference Playoff series against the Phoenix Suns Saturday afternoon 120-95 and have a chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead on Tuesday night at Target Center. In NBA Playoff history, a higher seeded team that goes up 2-0 in a seven game series has gone on to win 93% of the time.
Anthony Edwards lead the way for Minnesota with 33 points but he had a lot of help, especially from the bench where the Timberwolves dominated Phoenix with a 41-18 scoring advantage. That dominance was also evident in the paint where the Wolves outrebounded the Suns 52-28 and outscored them 52-34.
"We're lucky to have 10 guys we feel can play rotation minutes," said Wolves head coach Chris Finch. "Who those guys are at any given moment may change, obviously injuries change things like it did the other night. We leave it open like we do but know but we know we have depth to go any direction that we want to."
The injury Finch referred to is forward Kyle Anderson who went out of game one with a hip pointer. He's questionable for game two.
Don't expect Phoenix to go quietly however. Lead by an all-time great in Kevin Durant, plus sharpshooters Devin Booker and Bradley Beale, the Suns are a very dangerous team and the Wolves know they'll have to play great to win.
"We have to keep our edge, keep our desperation, we still have a ton to prove," Finch said after practice Monday. "We expect this to be a really long series. That's a great team over there with great coaches we expect to make adjustments."
PREVIEW
Phoenix Suns (49-33, sixth in the Western Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (56-26, third in the Western Conference)
Minneapolis; Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Timberwolves -3; over/under is 214
WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Timberwolves lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Timberwolves host the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Timberwolves won the last meeting 120-95 on April 20 led by 33 points from Anthony Edwards, while Kevin Durant scored 31 points for the Suns.
The Timberwolves are 37-15 against Western Conference opponents. Minnesota has a 7-6 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Suns have gone 29-23 against Western Conference opponents. Phoenix is 8-6 in one-possession games.
The Timberwolves score 113.0 points per game, 0.2 fewer points than the 113.2 the Suns give up. The Suns are shooting 49.3% from the field, 4.3% higher than the 45.0% the Timberwolves’ opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Edwards is averaging 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Timberwolves. Naz Reid is averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Jusuf Nurkic is scoring 10.9 points per game and averaging 11.0 rebounds for the Suns. Devin Booker is averaging 25.5 points and 2.7 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Timberwolves: 6-4, averaging 113.3 points, 42.7 rebounds, 27.6 assists, 9.9 steals and 5.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.7 points per game.
Suns: 6-4, averaging 109.5 points, 40.5 rebounds, 26.1 assists, 9.3 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.6 points.
INJURIES: Timberwolves: Kyle Anderson: questionable (hip), Jaylen Clark: out (achilles).
Suns: Damion Lee: out (knee), Grayson Allen: day to day (ankle).