Bradley Beal Powers Suns Past Wolves
The Phoenix Suns evade the play-in tournament after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves.
PHOENIX --- The Phoenix Suns needed a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to evade the play-in tournament.
They got it.
The Suns emerged victorious in 125-106 fashion on Sunday. As of publish, the New Orleans Pelicans are trailing the Los Angeles Lakers, and if results hold, the Suns will climb up to the sixth seed.
Phoenix finishes the regular season 49-33.
Bradley Beal led all players with 36 points to pair with six rebounds and five assists. Sunday marked Beal's third-highest scoring effort all season.
Grayson Allen (20) and Devin Booker (23) also pitched in for scoring duties while Jusuf Nurkic tied a career high with five steals.
Rudy Gobert (21) was the only Minnesota player to score 20+ points.
The Suns got off to one of their best opening quarters of the season thanks to 16 early points from Beal, who took control immediately and never relinquished his grip on the game. Phoenix played as sound defense as possible in today's NBA and converted 8-of-11 attempts from downtown to take a commanding 44-22 lead.
Phoenix carried that momentum into the second quarter, extending their advantage to as much as 22 in the second frame before a quick 9-0 run from Minnesota brought the deficit down to 66-53 heading into the break. The Wolves turned the ball over 19 times in the first half despite shooting an impressive 65.5% from the field.
The third quarter saw the Suns and Wolves struggle as both squads went on runs. Phoenix ultimately held a 89-78 lead after 36 minutes of action. With Nurkic in foul trouble, Minnesota was able to both control the boards in the third while also seeing more success in the paint.
The Suns built their advantage back up to 23 points halfway through the fourth, which proved to be too much for Minnesota. Both squads emptied their bench with over 4:30 left in the game.
The Suns shot a strong 50%+ from both the field (54.7) and three-point land (55.2). Minnesota finished the day with 24 total turnovers.
The NBA Playoffs are set to begin on April 20.
