Suns Collapse vs Timberwolves in Game 2 Loss
The Phoenix Suns are now down 0-2 in their series heading back to the Valley.
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns appeared as if they had finally figured out an elixir for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Even on a night where Karl-Anthony Towns sat early due to foul trouble and Anthony Edwards came back down to Earth from an incredible Game 1 - it didn't matter.
The Suns fell to Minnesota in 105-93 fashion on Tuesday and now trail 0-2 in their first-round series. Despite looking far better for most of their matchup compared to the series opener, Phoenix simply fell apart after the first half.
The Suns have now scored less than 100 points in both playoff performances.
Teams who emerge to a 2-0 lead in a series go on to advance 92.7% of the time, according to Land of Basketball.
Through Phoenix's game, no road team has been victorious to begin the postseason. The Suns were unable to buck that trend.
It was a sloppy start to the game, as turnovers plagued both the Suns and Timberwolves to begin Game 2. Despite getting down to an early 8-0 deficit, the Suns slowly found their footing to a 24-21 deficit to end the first quarter. Devin Booker and Rudy Gobert both led their squads with eight points a piece while 11 of Minnesota's first 24 points came off turnovers.
Towns picked up three fouls in the first 11 minutes of play, relegating him to the bench for the rest of the first half.
It didn't take long for Phoenix to take their first lead roughly 90 seconds in the second quarter after trailing by as much as nine, thanks to a tough finish from Jusuf Nurkic through contact.
Physicality was a theme that carried over from their first meeting, and tension nearly blew over halfway through the second when Booker and Jaden McDaniels decided to up the intensity:
Phoenix - with Towns out of action - built their lead up to eight before Minnesota worked their way back. The Suns carried a 51-50 advantage into the break and took full advantage of Towns' absence by winning the rebound battle 22-18. Mike Conley paced all scorers with 14 at half.
Early in the third quarter, Phoenix lost Grayson Allen (who was questionable with an ankle sprain but ended up starting) to the same injury that saw him exit Game 1. He was officially ruled out later in the third.
Minnesota was able to slow the game down thanks to Phoenix putting the Wolves in the bonus with each foul in the last half of the third quarter. A 12-0 Wolves run saw Minnesota take control of the game before the Timberwolves entered the final quarter of play up 78-71.
Every Wolves starter finished in double-digit points after three quarters while two Suns rotational players in Drew Eubanks (6) and Eric Gordon (7) kept Phoenix afloat off the bench.
The Timberwolves reached their biggest lead of the night at 17 with eight minutes left to play, as the Suns looked every bit of dazed and confused similar to what they experienced in their Game 1 loss.
Despite minor pushes, Phoenix was unable to make any serious dent in Minnesota's advantage before the final buzzer sounded. Booker fouled out with 2:17 left in the game, scoring 20 points with five assists.
After Booker fouled out, the Suns waved the white flag and emptied their bench with "Wolves in 4" chants ringing through Target Center.
The Timberwolves managed to put their home court advantage to good use while the Suns struggled to maintain any momentum for long periods of time.
Gordon finished with 15 bench points for the Suns and could see an uptick in time if Allen isn't available with his ankle sprain. O'Neale played 17 minutes and didn't take a shot.
McDaniels paced the Wolves in scoring with 25. Edwards finished with 15 points on 3-12 shooting.
After shooting just 28 three-pointers in Game 1, the Suns put up just 22 attempts on Tuesday. Phoenix finished with 20 turnovers.
Game 3 will be Friday in Phoenix.
