PHOENIX — These two nights, Thursday and Friday, appeared to be the two toughest on the Wolves' season when the schedule came out.
A road game in Golden State against Stephen Curry and company on Thursday followed by another road game against the defending Western Conference champions on Friday in Phoenix.
That meant little rest and a time zone change in which the Wolves lost an hour between playing two of the hardest opponents they'll face all season.
Much like their loss Thursday, the Wolves hung around Friday against Phoenix but ultimately lost to a team with too much firepower, 134-124.
Like the Warriors did a night ago, the Suns shot the Wolves out of the gym by hitting 20 of their 39 3-point attempts. The Wolves' rotational, scrambling style of defense has caused issues for some teams and enabled them to be in the playoff discussion. But some of the better offenses in the league have been able to take advantage of the open looks they can get with crisp ball movement and solid shooters. The Warriors and Suns each exposed that flaw in the Wolves' system Friday. Suns guard Chris Paul had a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists while Devin Booker added 29 as seven Suns hit double figures.
The Wolves trailed 112-108 with 6 minutes, 48 seconds when Cameron Johnson and Landry Shamet hit 3s on three straight Suns possessions to push Phoenix's lead to 121-110. Phoenix got the lead to 13 before the Wolves made one last run. They were able to cut it to 128-122 and had multiple possessions to get closer, but couldn't do it.
Injuries didn't help the Wolves' cause Friday with multiple point guards out. D'Angelo Russell (left shin contusion) joined Patrick Beverley as out because of injuries. Jarred Vanderbilt (right midfoot sprain) was a game-time decision but ended up playing.
The absences caused a shift in the lineup and responsibilities. Jaylen Nowell made his first career start. Anthony Edwards also handled point guard duties for stretches of time while Jordan McLaughlin played his most significant minutes in weeks. Edwards acquitted himself well with 27 points and a career-high 10 assists. Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 while Malik Beasley had 28 a night after going 0 for 8 from 3-point range against Golden State.
The Wolves defense thrives on creating turnovers, and before the game Suns coach Monty Williams talked about the importance of trying to use the Wolves' aggressiveness against them, to hammer the weak side when the initial action breaks down.
Phoenix committed just one turnover in the first quarter and built a 29-20 lead. The Wolves were able to score effectively on their own — Towns and Edwards each had eight in the quarter — but Phoenix's offensive efficiency set the tone early as the Suns led 40-32 after one.
The second quarter went better for the Wolves as a unique bench unit of Edwards, Jaden McDaneils, Naz Reid, Vanderbilt and Taurean Prince that helped lead a charge back from a 50-41 deficit. The Wolves tied it up 53-53 and would eventually take a 61-59 lead on a Prince layup.
But as the second quarter wound down, Phoenix rotated most of its starters and closed the half on an 8-0 run, which included a loose-ball foul and technical on Towns with 1.1 seconds left.
After not scoring in the first quarter, Paul had 15 in the second quarter.
The Wolves' familiar third-quarter struggles appeared in the opening minutes of the third quarter as the Suns opened up a 12-point lead, their largest of the night to that point. That prompted Wolves coach Chris Finch to call an early timeout and the Wolves got back on solid footing thanks to Towns, who had 13 in the third. But the Wolves never got the lead back.
