These Phoenix Suns continue to defy traditional NBA logic.
No Devin Booker (right groin strain), no Jalen Green (right hamstring strain) and a hurting Dillon Brooks (right Achilles soreness) against a full strength Minnesota Timberwolves squad on the road spelt unavoidable obstacles in Phoenix’s way. No one knew that better than its opponent.
And yet, the Suns charged right through those obstacles to add another surprising shorthanded victory onto a growing list of ’em with a 108-105 victory on Monday.
The most expected outcome for a Suns game at this point is not how hard they play. It’s the moment around the early-to-mid second quarter when the opponent realizes, “Oh, we’re going to have to play harder to beat these guys.”
Conventional NBA player methodology sees far more talented teams relax if not borderline sleepwalk through portions of a regular season game before locking in for select sequences to do enough for a win that was never in question in their eyes. Time after time, the Suns trump this methodology.
You could argue the five most talented offensive players in Monday’s game were in a black Timberwolves jersey. And yet, it was the Suns who consistently produced the better offensive possessions.
They were living in the paint, using relentless motors in a downhill approach of getting to the rim, or at least threatening that they would. This kept generating good looks through the ball movement this sparked, and even though they weren’t falling early, Phoenix never let up.
Add on its foundational connectivity and hustle through multiple efforts defensively and the Suns not only won this game, but they controlled this game. Minnesota was constantly chasing this thing, waiting for a moment of weakness and a flurry of a few minutes to weaken Phoenix’s confidence. But that’s the other thing about the Suns. Their belief is otherworldly.
The Timberwolves eventually matched the physicality, leading to a slugfest in the second half.
Minnesota tied the game entering the fourth quarter, and again, normal NBA player mindsets re-infested their brains right after they had worked so hard to eliminate that usual thinking. The Timberwolves saw the Suns without four starters on the floor, and Phoenix responded with far better energy to inspire a 7-0 run that eventually got the Suns back up 11, thanks to some pristine shot-making from Collin Gillespie.
Brooks, who was not shooting the ball well at that point, wasn’t even on the floor for the majority of the fourth quarter, whether that was a minutes restriction issue or a precaution by head coach Jordan Ott. That eventually caught up to Phoenix and it scored three points in the final 3:51. That gap was the moment the Timberwolves were ironically waiting to pounce on. It’s just not that simple, though, specifically in crunch time.
Minnesota missed a few open 3s before an outstanding defensive sequence by the Suns up three with 27 seconds left denied all potential opportunities at a 3-pointer, eventually forcing Minnesota to take a free layup at nine seconds remaining. Gillespie then made both of his free throws before a possible game-tying corner triple for Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels was a half-decent look that did not go down to end the night.
Maybe opponents will eventually see a Suns jersey and not the person wearing it to realize the task ahead over 48 minutes. For now, though, opponents continue to underestimate this group. And if that trend continues, so will Suns victories like this one.
Brooks was 7-of-20 for 18 points with two assists and two turnovers. Grayson Allen wasn’t much better shooting it at 5-of-16 for 12 points with four assists and two turnovers, while it was 19 points (6-of-15) for Gillespie with four assists and a turnover. All three didn’t shoot it particularly well but contributed immense shifts offensively that put pressure on Minnesota, with a shout to Jordan Goodwin and Jamaree Bouyea as well.
Mark Williams’ fabulous season continued with him outplaying Rudy Gobert and the team as a whole frustrated the veteran enough to get him tossed.
The key to playing against Gobert is to expose him where you can to help mitigate the colossal impact he has defensively and Williams unlocked a lot of that. The tireless drives were often in curling actions around the wing accompanied by Williams screens, forcing Gobert to backpedal in open space while finding the proper amount to commit to the ball-handler while not giving up a passing lane to Williams.
Phoenix was winning those possessions more often than not, with Williams’ speed and length providing more options, especially outside of those environments in transition.
Williams was once again running in the mid-third quarter and got a chance at a dunk in semi-transition. As he was in mid-air getting ready to dunk, Gobert elbowed him in the ribs with a forearm. Any unnecessary contact with an airborne player is incredibly dangerous, and Williams was fortunate to land OK after the shot in the ribs clearly affected him too.
It was a textbook Flagrant 2 ruling and Gobert was ejected under five minutes into the second half. Gobert has a habit of letting overt physicality get to him, and this was the latest example after a few instances earlier in the game clearly bothered him. It’s the type of emotional response endangering another player that warrants a look from the league.
Williams finished with 22 points (7-of-9) with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and zero turnovers. He also attempted and made his first 3-pointer of the season.
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards scored 40 points on 15-of-21 shooting but nothing he or Julius Randle (21 points, 7-of-11 shooting) did with great individual creation led to a consistent offensive flow. The team shot 11-of-42 from 3 (26%) to Phoenix’s 12-for-33 (36%).
