Timberwolves outlast Suns to finish sweep
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PHOENIX, April 29, (AP): Minnesota star Anthony Edwards noticed early in the third quarter that the Phoenix Suns switched up their defense, playing him one-on-one most of the time instead of using the double teams from the first half.
The budding superstar took that as a challenge.
“It was like – you’ve got 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 and the Timberwolves pulled away late to beat the Suns 122-116 on Sunday night and sweep the first-round playoff series.
The franchise’s first playoff series win in 20 years came after coach Chris Finch left the game late in the fourth after an inadvertent collision with Wolves guard Mike Conley. The team said he had a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee.
Edwards finished 13 of 23 from the field, including 7 of 13 from 3-point range. The 22-year-old threw down a powerful, one-handed jam to give Minnesota a 115-111 lead with 2:14 left.
“We’ve watched him grow, evolve as a leader, as a player, as a man,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said. “It’s been fun.”
Phoenix would never recover.
The Wolves finished off the Suns despite Devin Booker’s 49 points on 13 of 21 shooting. He also made 20 of 21 free throws. Kevin Durant added 33, but the rest of the team struggled.
Assistant coach Micah Nori took over for Finch for the final 1:41 and the Wolves closed with relative ease.
“Everybody has their role, everybody has each other’s back,” Nori said. “I know it sounds corny, but it’s just next man up, even with the coaching staff.”
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