Follow tonight’s Wolves-Suns play-by-play here.
Star Tribune staff writer Chris Hine is in Phoenix filing live reports before, during and after Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference quarterfinal series between the Timberwolves and Suns at Footprint Center. The Wolves had a 3-0 series lead entering tonight’s game.
11:27 p.m.: It’s a 122-116 final as Ant scores 40
The Timberwolves weren’t going to win their first playoff series since 2004 the easy way, but after sweeping Phoenix with a 122-116 victory in Game 4, the Wolves are advancing to the second round of the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history.
The game featured another mythmaking performance from Anthony Edwards, who scored 40 points, one of the best postseason performances of Karl-Anthony Towns’ career (28 points) – and it even had an extra dose of drama with a late-game injury to Wolves coach Chris Finch, who needed help off the sideline before the game was over after a late collision with Mike Conley.
The Wolves now wait for the winner of the Lakers-Nuggets series. The defending NBA champion Nuggets lead 3-1 with Game 5 on Monday night in Denver. If the Nuggets win Monday, the Wolves-Nuggets series would start on Saturday; if the Lakers win Monday, the Wolves’ next series would start next Monday.
Edwards began to send the crowd home early with a breakaway dunk with 19.5 seconds remaining, capping a masterful second half after he struggled to get going in the first. Edwards his seven threes on the night, six of those coming in the second half. He needed some help along the way, and Towns provided a steady stream of offense throughout the night, even as the Wolves couldn’t hit early.
That helped the Wolves overcome 49 points from Devin Booker and 33 from Kevin Durant. It helped that Bradley Beal fouled out for the Suns after just nine points.
The Wolves threw haymakers at Phoenix in the form of threes by Edwards and Jaden McDaniels that had the Wolves a 113-109 lead with just over three minutes to play. After two Booker free throws, Conley missed a three before Nickeil Alexander-Walker got a steal on the other end, then Edwards took to the air for an authoritative slam to put the Wolves up 115-11 with 2:12 to go.
Alexander-Walker made another key defensive play, forcing a Beal turnover and then Beal fouled out on the Wolves next trip down the floor.
There was a scary moment after that when Finch needed help up after a collision with Conley as a foul forced Conley out of bounds. The game stopped momentarily as the Wolves athletic training staff attended to Finch, who had an apparent right knee injury as he was helped from the floor. It appeared Finch remained in the arena initially behind the Wolves bench as assistant Micah Nori took over on the sideline.
The Wolves used a 7-0 run after falling behind 99-95 to take a 102-99 lead on a Towns bucket with 7:01 left before Beal picked up his fifth foul on the next possession.
McDaniels added 18 for the Wolves.
10:37 p.m.: Devin Booker puts Suns on his back as they lead by two after three
The Wolves have had good third quarters all series against the Suns, but while they cut into Phoenix’s lead after halftime, they still trail 92-90 entering the fourth as the game opened up for both teams offensively.
The Wolves appeared to be in trouble 55 seconds into the third when Rudy Gobert picked up his fourth foul defending Jusuf Nurkic. But with Gobert out, the Wolves finally their first burst of good offense on the night, as Anthony Edwards led a quick 8-0 run with a pair of threes and an assist to Jaden McDaniels.
With Gobert out, Phoenix was able to take advantage on the offensive end of the floor, even as Bradley Beal sat on the bench with four fouls.
But the Wolves had no answer for Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, who were up to 37 and 31 points, respectively, after three quarters. Booker is 15-for-16 at the free-throw line.
Edwards got on track offensively for the Wolves with 15 in the quarter, which included four threes.
Karl-Anthony Towns has 26 and Edwards 24 for the Wolves.
9:50 p.m.: Wolves’ first half shooting is tepid, and Suns grab the lead
The Wolves’ shooting woes continued in the second quarter and they trail the Suns 61-56 at the half.
They finished just 17-for-45 from the floor and 4-for-18 from three-point range leading to their deficit.
Karl-Anthony Towns was 3-for-3 from three-point range, the rest of the team was 1-for-17.
Anthony Edwards was 2-for-8 at the half as neither team took a large lead on the other throughout a back-and-forth half. Phoenix’s five-point lead represented its largest lead of the half.
Kevin Durant had 20 points in 23 first-half minutes while Devin Booker had 19, which included a buzzer beater as time expired.
Towns led the Wolves with 15 while McDaniels had 11. The Wolves committed just five first-half turnovers but the Suns turned those into 12 points.
9:10 p.m.: Suns come to play, lead after one
The Timberwolves got off to a cold shooting start in the first quarter but trail just 26-25 heading into the second quarter.
The Wolves shot 5-for-22 in the first quarter but benefited from going 14-for-15 from the free-throw line.
Rudy Gobert got in early foul trouble as he picked up two early fouls, both on the same possession, but the Wolves defense held its own without him on the floor.
Anthony Edwards began the night 0-for-5.
Jaden McDaniels led the Wolves with eight points while Devin Booker had nine for Phoenix, with six of those coming at the foul line.
The Wolves shot just 1-for-9 from three-point range.
7:14 p.m.: The waiting is the hardest part
For Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, the waiting in a playoff series is indeed the hardest part.
Finch was asked before tonight’s game how his team has handled its business in practices and meetings in between games, and he said it has been hard to not be anxious in a series that has been so spaced out.
There were two days off between Games 1, 2 and 3 with only one day off between Games 3 and 4 for the first time in the series.
“This has been a slow series, we’ve had two days between every single game,” he said. “When you’re in these things, no matter whether you’re up or down, the hardest thing I think is just the waiting. When you play a game and then you break it down and kind of know what you wanna do and what you need to do, what you think they’re going to do and how you need to counter it, you want to go put it in action. The waiting for me is probably the toughest.”
The Wolves did not hold a formal practice Saturday or a shootaround Sunday as they opted more for rest prior to Game 4. With a close out game on tap, Finch wants his team to not react too strongly to the emotions of the game.
“It’s the same as we’ve been talking about since Game 1,” Finch said. “You got to stay on an even keel. What’s going to happen, the emotion in the building will be high. Emotion from the opponent will be high. Emotion from everybody will be high. You got to stay within the game, the game plan, weather the storm and try not to beat yourself with silly play.”
6:37 p.m.: Grayson Allen won’t play for Phoenix
Suns guard Grayson Allen was the NBA’s best three-point shooter by percentage this season, but an ankle injury suffered in Game 1 was aggravated in Game 2 and sidelined him for Game 3.
Phoenix coach Frank Vogel said pregame that Allen won’t play tonight, leaving a hole in the Suns lineup because their three-point shooting has been subpar.
Royce O’Neale is expected to start in Allen’s spot alongside Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker and Jusuf Nurkic.
The Wolves starters are Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards.
5 p.m.: Finch third in NBA Coach of the Year voting
Finch was a finalist for the NBA Coach of the Year award, but in the end, he had no chance.
Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder was the winner in a runaway, getting 89 of 99 first place votes. The Thunder claimed the top seed in the West in the 39-year-old Daigneault’s fourth season; OKC went from a 40-42 record to 57-25.
The Wolves improved from 42-40 to 56-26 in the 54-year-old Finch’s fourth season. It was the second best regular season record for the franchise, which was 58-24 in 2003-24. The Timberwolves, after 35 seasons, still have the worst winning percentage (.411) in NBA history.
Finch was third in Coach of the Year voting. Daigneault had 89 first place votes, nine second place votes and one third for 473 points. Jamahl Mosley (4-36-30-158) was second, followed by Finch (1-23-31-105).
The other first-place votes went to Joe Mazzulla of Boston (2), Tom Thibodeau of New York (2) and Erik Spoelstra of Miami (1).
