After scoring a playoff career-high 25 points, Jaden McDaniels is answering questions at the post-game podium. A reporter asks what it’s like playing defense with Anthony Edwards and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
“Every time I go on the court and I see them two, I just be like, ‘Who you wanna guard?’” McDaniels said with a brief smile. “It don’t matter which person we guard. It’s great to have.”
Across the hall, Frank Vogel answers a question about the Phoenix Suns’ demeanor.
“Poor,” he said, “yeah, we didn’t keep our composure.”
That pretty much summed up the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 105-93 win on Tuesday night. On one side of the court, the Wolves played through foul adversity and let their defense zap Phoenix’s willpower. On the other side, the Suns let a physical game seemingly get to their heads and throw them off their game plan.
In the first quarter, the Wolves largely played with the same intensity they had Saturday afternoon when they beat the Suns 120-95. After an offensive lull to start the game, Minnesota jumped out to an 8-0 lead. After the scoring burst, the proverbial rock fight ensued. However, the common throughline between Saturday and Tuesday was the frustration the Suns displayed.
A noticeably surly Kevin Durant was called for an early foul on McDaniels, which led to a long conversation with the refs. Durant wasn’t alone in attempting to work the refs; Devin Booker repeatedly pleaded his case to the referees after a litany of mid-range jump shots. As the quarter progressed, the referees appeared to try to temper Minnesota’s physicality.
The Wolves remained foul-free through the first four and a half minutes of the game. Then Karl-Anthony Towns was called for a charge on Bradley Beal, his first of three in the quarter. His final open occurred at the 53-second mark, forcing Finch to sideline Towns for the remainder of this first half.
Towns wasn’t alone in fouling in the first quarter. The Wolves finished the frame with six total fouls. However, the three quick fouls on Towns allowed the Wolves to simultaneously deploy McDaniels, Edwards, and Alexander-Walker. Together, they slowed down Phoenix’s big three and maintained a 24-21 advantage at the end of one.
Rudy Gobert has also started to rewrite the narrative of his postseason defense. He shuts down Beal in the clip below.
Minnesota struggled to adjust to the tighter officiating in the second quarter, and the Suns clawed to an eight-point lead. Tensions boiled over when McDaniels took exception to Booker’s hard shoulder, leading to an exchange of words and a technical call on McDaniels for retaliating with a shove.
That would reignite the crowd, who yelled disparaging chants down on the refs. The Wolves appeared to be fueled by the technical foul, propelling them back into the game. Minnesota cut the Suns’ lead to just one point going into the half. The foul disparagement also leveled out; the Wolves entered halftime with 11 fouls to Phoenix’s nine.
Minnesota displayed their versatility again early in the third quarter by playing a more switch-heavy defense. Gobert switched onto Durant twice in the first six minutes of the quarter, and Gobert forced a touch miss both times. The Suns quickly deciphered the switch and started to hunt for Towns to get switched onto Booker. Finch again changed back to a more man-heavy drop defense to prevent a fourth foul from being called on Towns.
The switch back paid off. Towns scored seven straight and tied the game with seven minutes left in the quarter. In the ensuing three minutes, the Wolves changed their philosophy again. Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker checked in, and the Timberwolves deployed a defensive rotation that could switch every position and physically double off almost every screen.
Below is a highlight of the unit shutting down one of Phoenix’s last attempts to get back into the game.
That defense gave the Suns fits. They allowed the Wolves to build a seven-point lead capped off by Edwards’ mid-range bucket over Durant, forcing Vogel to call a timeout. Gobert returned to the floor out of the timeout, and the Wolves switched back to a more typical drop defense. Minnesota finished the third up seven, highlighting why they were the league’s best defense in the regular season.
In the fourth quarter, they adjusted back to a switch-heavy defense. Gobert switched onto Beal and Booker and forced the pass away both times. That left the Suns exacerbated, and their frustration became visible. Booker once again started looking to the referees. The Wolves fed off Phoenix’s frustration.
The Wolves built a 17-point lead, capped off by four straight points for McDaniels, forcing the Suns to call their final timeout with 7:51 to go. Edwards checked back into the game, and the Wolves never looked back. The Target Crowd partied through the remainder of the game.
For a second straight game, the Wolves showed the ability to make adjustments on the fly. They kept their emotions in check and heightened their defensive intensity to shut down a Suns Big 3 that again left the game frustrated in defeat. Vogel attempted to refocus his team after the game.
“We can’t let the refs distract our focus,” he said. “The refs didn’t beat us; the T-Wolves did.”
If the Suns can’t regain their composure, the Wolves appear to be fully prepared to end this series sooner rather than later.
