The NBA playoffs continued, and the Suns lost 116-122 to the Timberwolves at home, suffering four consecutive losses in the playoffs. In this game, it can be seen that the Suns are holding their strength, although they failed to take the initiative on the court, but at least the Suns did not collapse as often as in the past few games, and they were behind for a long time. The two sides have been biting throughout the game, and it is difficult to distinguish between the top and the bottom. Until the last moment, the Timberwolves continued to exert strength at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and the Suns gradually lost their resistance and had no choice but to collapse and lose. After this game, the Suns were swept out of the game by the Timberwolves with a score of 0-4 in the first-round series, so where did the Suns lose this game?
Durant, who shot 12-of-17 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line, scored 33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 1 turnover, with a plus/minus of -7. Durant was tearful today, and in order not to be swept out, he gave everything he had and almost dedicated himself to the court. On the offensive end, Durant is full of efficiency, and on the defensive end, he also helps his teammates to help defend as much as possible, and he does not have a superstar frame at all, but always puts victory first. Durant also understands that this Suns team has serious shortcomings in terms of roster, and he does his best to do everything the team needs him to do and make up for the Suns' shortcomings as much as possible.
Booker, who shot 13-of-21 from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point range and 20-of-21 from the free-throw line, scored 49 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 2 turnovers, with a plus/minus of -1. Today's Booker can be said to have completely carried the team on his shoulders, and on the offensive end, he is no longer obsessed with mid-to-long-range jump shots, but has hit the interior again and again and hit the basket. In addition to causing plenty of damage, Booker's more athletic goals also came from the three-second zone. Booker could be called "The Sun God" today, but in this series, to be honest, he came a little too late.
Beal, who shot 4-of-13 from the field and 1-of-5 from three-point range, only had 9 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 block and 6 turnovers, and had a plus/minus of -12 on the court. Beal's play today was a disaster, except for being plagued by fouls, he couldn't even grasp some easy opportunities, and he didn't play the performance that a "giant" should have. And he made several fatal mistakes in a row at critical moments, which directly led to the collapse of the sun. Durant and Booker struggled to support, but Beal couldn't play a role that matched his value at all, although he also worked the court, and he worked the defensive end. But competitive sports are so cruel, winning and losing, and Beal can't reverse the fact that he has a premium contract.
Nurkic, who shot 3-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, contributed 9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, with a plus/minus of -7. It seems that the efficiency of the crossbow machine is not bad today, and the data column is filled. In fact, his attitude on the field can only be described as weak. Don't dare to dunk in the face of open positions, it seems that Nurkic seems to be afraid of Gobert, and every time the defense is faced with cover, he directly asks Beal to defend Gobert, causing multiple misalignments, such an attitude is a little unbearable, and in the end his playing time is limited to less than 20 minutes.
Royce O'Neal, who shot 2-of-6 from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point range, had 6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal, with a plus/minus of +1 on the court. Since Allen's injury, O'Neill has repeatedly demonstrated with performances why he is not a starter-caliber player. His chances were almost all open, but his grasp was too low, and his defense was nowhere near the top to make up for the holes in the attack. O'Neal's performance also reflects that the Suns are really unavailable except for a few cores.
Eric Gordon, who shot 2-of-7 from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point range, contributed six points. It seems that Gordon's three-point efficiency today is okay, and it even feels like a hard hand at a certain stage, but combined with the defensive end and the inability to seize opportunities at critical moments, Gordon really didn't provide much help to the Suns on the court.
The remaining role players off the bench, Okogie shot 2-of-3 from the field, 0-of-1 from three-point range, and 0-of-2 from the free-throw line, he had 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 turnovers, and Little made 0-of-1 three-pointers, and he didn't score and only contributed 1 rebound. Overall, the Suns' bench today was a microcosm of their entire season, and there really wasn't much available to the bench.