After losing to the lowly Pistons for a second time on Wednesday night, the Timberwolves needed to beat the shorthanded Suns Friday night and they did just that, building a big lead early and keep the Suns in the rearview mirror all game en route to a 121-116 win at Target Center.
Phoenix played without Devin Booker and Chris Paul and found themselves down by 10 points after the first quarter, 15 at the half and 17 entering the fourth quarter. Minnesota pushed the lead to 103-81 early in the fourth quarter and it was simply too much for the Suns to overcome.
Anthony Edwards, who paced the Wolves with 31 points, dunked with 90 second to play to erase any doubt that Minnesota would hold on for the home win.
D’Angelo Russell finished with 17 points, Rudy Gobert grabbed 12 rebounds and had four steals, and Jaden McDaniels stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Minnesota played just nine guys all night, and the four players off the bench combined for 45 points. Taurean Prince scored 16, Naz Reid had 13, Austin Rivers scored nine and Jaylen Nowell finished with seven points.
The Suns were 16-7 entering play on Dec. 5 but 16 losses in their last 21 games has dropped them to 21-23, just behind the 21-22 Timberwolves in the Western Conference race.
Up next: No rest for the Wolves as they host the Cavaliers (27-16) Saturday at 7 p.m. Minnesota follows that with a day game (2:30 p.m.) on Monday against the Utah Jazz as part of the NBA’s celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
