Fans in Minneapolis made it clear that they don’t expect to see the Phoenix Suns in town again until sometime next season.
The Suns can change that with an improved performance in Friday’s Game 3. Yet their backs are against the wall as they attempt to get back into the Western Conference first-round series when they host the surging Minnesota Timberwolves.
There was nothing more demeaning for Phoenix than to lose the first two games on Minnesota’s floor and hear the fans vociferously chant the following late in Tuesday’s 105-93 victory:
“Wolves in four! Wolves in four! Wolves in four!”
Of course, winning on the road in the playoffs is different than chalking up home wins. So that sweep talk might be overly ambitious.
Regardless, Phoenix knows it is in trouble after dropping the first two games by an average of 18.5 points.
“We’ve got two days to get it right, but they’re not going to stop,” Suns guard Bradley Beal said after Game 2. “They’re going to continue to be aggressive, continue to push the envelope the way they have. And we have to respond. We haven’t responded yet.”
Phoenix trailed by as many as 27 points in Game 1 and 19 in Game 2.
The Suns, who fancy themselves as a running team, were outscored 31-2 in points off turnovers in Game 2.
“We’ve got to be better,” Phoenix coach Frank Vogel said. “When they’re swarming on us and we’re not getting the right stops, we can’t not be organized offensively.”
The Suns’ star trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Beal were a combined 18-of-45 shooting in Game 2 for 52 points. Booker was the high scorer with 20 as the Minnesota defense repeatedly clamped down.
Phoenix has reached 30 points in just one quarter in the series as three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and do-it-all defender Jaden McDaniels continue to stymie the Suns’ attack.
“We can see it. I can feel it. I can see them,” Gobert said. “It’s tough. No one likes going against the type of defense that we’re playing right now.”
McDaniels also turned it up on the offensive end with a game-best 25 points in Game 2.
“His activity’s been on another level so far in two games,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said of McDaniels.
Keeping that intensity is important in the eyes of center Naz Reid, who was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year on Wednesday.
“It’s super satisfying, but it’s not over,” Reid said of the 2-0 series lead. “You’ve got to kind of continue that and actually up it. We’re trying to get to somewhere that we’ve never been. Two games don’t get it done.
“I think everybody has understood and knows the assignment and I think everybody is going to up it. I think we’re all ready for it.”
Anthony Edwards scored 33 points in Game 1 before dropping to 15 in Game 2. Fellow star Karl-Anthony Towns’ outputs were 19 and 12.
So far, it has been a collective effort for Minnesota.
“Everyone down the list has shown they’ll be willing to do whatever it takes to sacrifice whatever it is for the betterment of the team,” Towns said.
Phoenix will look to take a similar approach at home as the Suns try to solve the Timberwolves, a team they went 3-0 against during the regular season with an average winning margin of 15.7 points.
But now, time is running out on the Suns.
“Don’t count us out,” Booker said. “It’s a series for a reason.”
Phoenix 3-point bomber Grayson Allen reinjured his right ankle in Game 2 for the second consecutive contest. X-rays were negative and his playing status will be firmed up after the Suns see how he responds to treatment.
