Game 3 Recap: Suns spliced, diced, and iced at home, down 0-3 after 126-109 shellacking by Timberwolves

The Phoenix Suns hosted their first game of the 2024 playoffs, and just like the last time they played in the Valley of the Sun during the postseason in Game 6 of the Second Round last season against the Denver Nuggets, they disappointed a home crowd with a frustrating loss. In both instances, their season ended, although tonight’s 126-109 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves hasn’t officially ended the year. But no team has ever come back down 0-3 in NBA history.

It was the same script as the first two games: missed layups, a fight in the first half, and an unfocused third quarter that cost them the game. The only thing missing was Grayson Allen getting hurt. That was avoided as he didn’t play.

Some stats happened, but I’m not even posting those. All you need to know is the Suns are who we thought (and feared) they were: a collection of talented individuals who lacked the ability to come together as a team.

The Timberwolves smacked them up and down the court after a tightly contested first half, outscoring Phoenix 36-20 in the third quarter to take control of the game.

The Suns are now down 0-3 in the series. That’s right, a team with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal is down 0-3. With Mat Ishbia sitting courtside, you must wonder what the young owner is thinking about his team and his investment.

You want to know how it happened? Sure. I’ll tell you a tale...

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Game Flow

First Half

The Suns would have Royce O’Neale in the starting lineup as Grayson Allen was scratched due to his ankle sprain.

Phoenix began with an eerily similar condition that they had through the first two games: the chronic missing of layups. The Suns began 1-of-7 from the field, missing numerous attempts at the cylinder.

Karl-Anthony Towns was the early offense for Minnesota, scoring 8 of their first 9 points. The Timberwolves developed on an early 7-point lead. 3 turnovers by the Suns led to 4 easy points for the Wolves.

With a crowd waiting to explode, Phoenix clawed their way back from a 9-point deficit, doing so by continuing to attack. Rudy Gobert — who committed one of the most blatant travels I’ve ever seen without being called — picked up two fouls and went to the bench with 6:32 left in the quarter.

Eric Gordon provided a lift with two made three-pointers, a steal of Anthony Edwards, and drawing the second foul on KAT. He had a team-high 10 points in the first quarter.

Anthony Edwards reemerged as a thorn in the Suns’ side after an off Game 2. With Towns, Conley, and Gobert in foul trouble, AE took it upon himself to become the primary scoring option for Minnesota. Even with the Suns throwing doubles at him and playing physically, Ant was still connecting on tough shots.

He ended the first quarter with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

Tony Brothers and crew had no issue blowing the whistle, calling 10 total fouls on the aggressive Timberwolves and 5 on the Suns. Naz Reid was another player who was hit with two fouls, as well as Drew Eubanks. The Suns had 15 free throw attempts to the Wolves’ 5.

Despite the free throw discrepancy, the Suns trailed 34-32 after the first.

Frank Vogel said he’d be willing to try anything, and anything is what he tried to start the second.

Matching up defensively on Gobert wasn’t an easy task for Bol. The Timberwolves immediately began pounding the interior. Guarding Mike Conley on the perimeter? A lay-in for Conley. As much as we love Bol, defensively he is a liability.

Offensive? He made the play that got everyone out of their seat when he executed a fastbreak jam. The crowd began the “Bol Bol” chants.

At the 7:02 mark, KAT was hit with is third foul, which put him back on the bench and Naz Reid back in the game. At the 5:07 mark, Devin Booker was hit with his third as well. Frank Vogel chose to let Booker continue to stay on the floor.

The game continued to stay close, with the Suns nipping at the Wolves’ heels. But, in the first two games in the series, Phoenix had a hard time closing the quarter. A 7-0 run by the Timberwolves put them back up by 8 points.

Minnesota had 30 points in the paint in the first half as compared to the Suns’ 16, shot 45.8% from the field to the Suns’ 42.1%, and outrebounded Phoenix 28-17. Anthony Edwards had 16 points and 5 rebounds, with Rudy Gobert adding 11 points and 8 rebounds. Kevin Durant led Phoenix with 14 points, Beal had 11, and Booker had 9. Phoenix won the turnover battle, only committing 6 in the first half.

Still, the Suns trailed at the half, 59-53.

Second Half

The Suns almost instantly found themselves down 10 points as they missed their first shot and then turned the ball over. A quick 4-0 run by Devin Booker, however, re-engaged a crowd that was becoming restless and uneasy. But the Wolves responded with back-to-back threes, resulting in their largest lead of the game at 11 points.

The threes kept coming as the Wolves opened on a 16-7 run, hitting 4 of their first 5 three-point attempts. The Phoenix deficit ballooned to 16 points midway through the period as the Suns could not stop Minny.

It became a 19-point deficit as Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit his third three of the quarter with 4:51 left in the third. The boo birds rightfully let the Phoenix Suns know how they felt.

The bleeding didn’t stop. Phoenix was outscored by 16 points in the third. Minnesota shot 60% from the field and 63.6% from three in the period. After three, 95-73.

It began to get testy in the fourth as Jaden McDaniels and Devin Booker were hit with techs. Pushing, shoving, you know the type. The Suns were down 21 points when it occurred.

Phoenix responded with a 9-2 run as they (finally) began shooting three-pointers. Minnesota sustained the run, however, slowly and surely putting the Suns away. Josh Okogie was ejected for a flagrant foul, penalty two after a hard foul on Rudy Gobert.

Anthony led all scorers in the game, going for 36 points on 12-of-23 shooting. The Suns’ Big Three all went over 20 points each, combining for 76 points. It didn’t matter. Suns lose.

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Up Next

Game 4 between these teams is at 6:30pm Arizona time on Sunday evening. Will the Suns save any face? Or just put us all out of our misery? Tune in to find out.