No third quarter outburst from Anthony Edwards this time.
Instead, Jaden McDaniels stole the show as the Minnesota Timberwolves clamped down on defense when needed the most.
McDaniels scored a playoff career-high 25 points, and the third-seeded Timberwolves pulled away in the fourth to prevail over the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns, 105-93, for a 2-0 West Round 1 series lead.
Wolves fans, look between Q and E on your keyboard. pic.twitter.com/9O4pjVGIPs
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 24, 2024
Game 3 of this series shifts to Phoenix as the Suns found themselves in 0-2 hole for the first time since the 2008 West Round 1 series with the San Antonio Spurs.
Known primarily for his defensive prowess, McDaniels emerged as the surprise topscorer for Minnesota, who forced the Suns to commit 25 turnovers and in turn converted them to 31 points.
Jaden McDaniels was HUGE in Game 2 😤
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2024
25 PTS (game-high)
8 REB
10-17 FG
T-Wolves lead Suns 2-0 🐺 pic.twitter.com/R3pXU68W74
The former first round pick capped off a 11-0 Timberwolves run with an easy drive to widen a 82-76 lead into a 93-76 breakaway with 7:51 left in regulation.
11-0 TIMBERWOLVES RUN 🐺
Jaden McDaniels (22 PTS) lays it in to push Minnesota's lead in the 4th quarter on TNT! pic.twitter.com/O339p4vPjh
— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2024
McDaniels was not done yet, connecting on a triple to bring Minnesota to their biggest lead of the game at 19 points, 102-83 as 4:40 ticks remained in the final frame.
Gobert's block leads to the McDaniels 3-pointer to extend the Timberwolves lead in the 4th quarter on TNT! pic.twitter.com/rOryqibp14
— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2024
Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert both chipped in 18 while Edwards, who exploded to 33 points in Game, was limited to just 15 on a sub-par 3-of-12 shooting.
Mike Conley dime ?? Rudy Gobert slam!
— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2024
MIN leads PHX in the 4Q on TNT pic.twitter.com/xQzENG7EXn
Unlike their blowout series opener dub, the Timberwolves grinded this out, bucked a horrible shooting beyond the arc, and pounced on the error-prone Suns all-game long.
Meanwhile, Devin Booker led the way for the Suns with 20 points but fouled out late in the game while Kevin Durant added 18 and Bradely Beal had 14.
The Suns’ Big Three combined for an 18-of-49 shooting and just collapsed late. Booker raced to a hot start with 13 first-half points as Phoenix took a 51-50 lead at the half.
Devin Booker cleans up his own miss and converts the and-1!
— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2024
PHX-MIN Game 2 is live on TNT pic.twitter.com/uSGuGNmKu1
Phoenix actually took a 51-49 rebounding edge after being outrebounded dramatically in Game 1, but just shot 8-of-22 in threes and could not get any run going.
The Suns are 0-14 all-time when down in a best-of-seven series.
Game 3 of the Western Conference series will air on Saturday, April 27, 10:30 a.m. on NBA TV Philippines and Pilipinas Live.
