On April 21, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs officially began! A matchup that ended in the early hours of this morning: the Timberwolves defeated the Suns 120-95 at home, leading 1-0 in the overall score. The scores in the fourth quarter were as follows (with the Suns in front): 28-27, 23-34, 21-31, 23-28. The rebounds were 52-28 for the Timberwolves and the Timberwolves were 52-34 for inside scoring.
Just looking at the performance of the starters, the Suns are not weak. But the Timberwolves bench players combined for 41 points, while the Suns bench scored just 18 points. On the Timberwolves' side, the most abnormal performance was Conley: played 27 minutes and 24 seconds, shot 2-of-12, 0-of-3 three-pointers, no free throws, only 4 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 fouls, with a team-low plus/minus of -8.
In an interview before the game, Conley said: "I'm very urgent, neither of these teams wants to win the series more than I do! The last time I went very far in the playoffs was 12 years ago (Western Conference finals). I don't want to waste this year's opportunity!"
Shortly after Downs came back, he played 26 minutes and 36 seconds in this game, shooting 5-of-9, 1-of-2 three-pointers, 8-of-8 free throws, scoring 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls, with a plus/minus of -2. Just looking at the data, Downs is average. In fact, his role on the court is obvious: the offensive end can create damage, and the defensive end can consume Durant.
He played 35 minutes and 48 seconds, shooting 14-of-24, 4-of-8 from three-point range, 1-of-2 from the free throw line, and finished with 33 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 6 turnovers, and a plus/minus of +19. In the third quarter, Edwards scored 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting in a single quarter, helping the Timberwolves lead 92-72 into the final quarter!
The Suns' Big Three were all trained by Huazijun, especially Durant, who was tackled twice by Edwards! "One fan's comment is very apt: the greatest tribute to idols is to defeat idols!
Durant played 38 minutes and 42 seconds today, the most minutes played by the two teams. He shot 11-of-17, 2-of-2 from three-point range, and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line to finish with 31 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 5 turnovers, with a game-low plus/minus of -20. Durant scored 30+ for the 76th time in the playoffs of his career, fourth in NBA history, and 12 short of third-place Kobe Bryant.
Booker played 37 minutes and 45 seconds, shooting only 5 of 16, 2 of 6 three-pointers, 6 of 6 free throws, 18 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, plus/minus -15. Beal played 37 minutes and 17 seconds, shooting 6-of-10, 1-of-3 three-pointers, 2-of-3 free throws, and got 15 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals, with a plus/minus of -9!
Eric Gordon played 21 minutes off the bench, shooting 0-of-5 from the field, slashing 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 turnovers, with a plus/minus of -18. Thomas Jr. also played 3 minutes and 37 seconds, and also did not score on 0-of-2 shooting. The Timberwolves' Gobert had 14 points, 16 rebounds and two assists on 4-of-6 shooting. Gobert has six frontcourt boards of his own, compared to only three for the Suns as a team.
Finally, let's take a look at the game data, this round of the series, do you think the Suns still have a chance?