Suns after Paul's absence
Probably no one would have thought that with Chris Paul sidelined due to injury, the Phoenix Suns would still be able to secure the first place in the West, and they would already lead the second-place Grizzlies in the West with nine wins. With only 10 games left in the season, that means that as long as the Suns win one more game, they will be able to lock in the first place in the West. For the sun, it's sooner or later. The Suns have won five straight, but this game they will challenge a formidable opponent.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have become the biggest dark horse of the season, not only because of the seventh record in the West, but also because of the Timberwolves' almost every victory, it is to destroy the momentum of decay, to beat the opponent to the ground, no way, the talent is there. This time, facing the sun of the league first, can the Timberwolves end the opponent's winning streak?
The league first played the Big Reversal
The Timberwolves, who played at home, showed great strength in the first quarter, towns had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block, and none of them came from the basket. Under Downs, the Timberwolves scored 30 points in a single quarter, while the League's Number One Suns only scored 25 points, including Ayton with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists, and Booker with 6 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. After returning from the second quarter, Ayton had 6 points and 3 rebounds, and Shamet on the bench hit 3 three-pointers to get 9 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, and the Suns had 26 points in a single quarter, and the point difference was still expanding.
Towns didn't make a difference, but Nowell on the bench scored 10 points, Edwards also hit two three-pointers, and the team blossomed more and still scored 34 points. At the end of the half, the Timberwolves led the Suns by 13 points, 64-51. In the second half, Booker finally ushered in an outbreak, with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, Ayton also had 8 points and 2 rebounds, the Suns bombed 32 points in a single quarter, and the Timberwolves became wolves, scoring only 24 points in this quarter. In the blink of an eye, the Suns narrowed the point difference to 5 points.
After returning from the final quarter, the Suns' offense continued, Booker took 11 points, 1 assist and 1 steal on 3-of-3 shooting, Ayton also had 11 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, and Shamet shot 3-of-4 with 10 points and 1 block, under the combination of the three, the team bombed 42 points in the final quarter, while the Timberwolves only scored 28 points, and Towns did not score a single point. In the end, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-116 on the road and successfully won six consecutive wins.
Ayton exploded in defeat to Downs
Facing the recent hot Downs, Ayton once again proved himself, shooting 15-of-24 from the field, with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists, most of which came from the box. For comparison, Towns had only 15 points and 11 rebounds on 6-of-13 shooting in the game, and only scored two points in the box. It can be seen from here that Ayton not only has an excellent offensive ceiling, but also the defensive end can limit the league's top centers, such offensive and defensive performance, the Suns are not willing to give a maximum salary contract, and it will definitely be them who regret it when the time comes.
Booker didn't feel good in the first half, and broke out in the second half, with 28 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists, Shamet on the bench hit 5 three-pointers, and also had 19 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, Bridges had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, and Payne had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists. On the Timberwolves side, although 7 people scored in double figures, the highest score was Edwards, with only 19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, and certainly could not lead the team to win the game. Russell only had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists and didn't help the team enough.