Game Recap: Suns fall at the buzzer to Minnesota, 120-117

The Phoenix Suns put up a fight, but the Wolves were the more aggressive team and they were rewarded for it.

The Phoenix Suns led by as many as 16, but Minnesota fought back and secured the win on a buzzer-beater by Julius Randle. Phoenix falls to 9-5 on the season and has lost three straight.

Phoenix’s bench outscored the Wolves 47 to 38. The ultra-aggressive Wolves’ defense was called for 13 fouls while Phoenix was whistled for 26. Minnesota shot 11 more free throws than the Suns and ultimately the late-game calls (and no-calls) doomed them.

It’s a tough one for Phoenix to swallow after they put together a strong 48-minute effort while shorthanded.

Key Performers

• Devin Booker — 44 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 15-29 FG
• Grayson Allen — 18 points, 5 rebounds, 1 rebound, 6-10 FG
• Tyus Jones — 13 points, 11 assists, 1 turnover, 6-12 FG
• Anthony Edwards — 24 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 9-14 FG
• Julius Randle — 35 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 11-20 FG

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First Half

Mike Budenholzer started with a big lineup, rolling out Mason Plumlee and Jusuf Nurkic together. It worked early, with Phoenix setting the tone from the start.

The Suns started strong early with a 10-2 edge, leading to a Wolves timeout. Devin Booker scored 10 of the Suns’ first 17 points on 3-4 shooting.

It was a Devin Booker flurry, scoring 15 points in the opening 9 minutes.

Monte Morris went on a personal 5-0 run to extend the Suns’ lead to 15, 29-14.

Minnesota fought back to cut the lead down to just nine entering the 2nd quarter. Phoenix was in front 31-22 led by 17 first-quarter points from Devin Booker.

Grayson Allen got hot in the second quarter, pouring in nine points off the bench in his first nine minutes of action.

The Wolves stormed back led by Donte DiVincenzo, who connected on four straight threes. Minnesota got it to 3, but a quick response from Phoenix pushed the lead back to 8, 50-42, leading to Chris Finch timeout.

The Suns closed the half out with a Josh Okogie slam to make it a 13-point game, only for Julius Randle to drill a deep, off-balance three as the buzzer went off.

At the half, Phoenix led by 10, 64-54. Devin Booker had 27 points leading all scorers. No one else on the Suns was in double figures. Julius Randle had 18 points for Minnesota at the break.

Second Half

The second half got off to a whistle-happy start with 5 fouls in the first 2:30 of action. Every time Phoenix hit a three, it felt like the Wolves answered with one of their own.

Devin Booker hit a tough step-back three over Rudy Gobert to get the Suns back up by 9. It was his fifth 3-pointer of the game.

Julius Randle’s hot start carried over into the third, answering Book’s three a couple possessions later to make it a 77-71 Suns lead.

Anthony Edwards got hot with an and-one followed up by a breakaway jam after a steal in transition.

A pair of huge triples from Royce O’Neale and Devin Booker pushed what was a one-point game back to a Suns 7-point advantage. The Suns took a 90-86 lead into the final quarter.

A pair of Grayson Allen threes got Phoenix’s lead back to 11. Minnesota furiously rallied back again… it was the theme of this game. The Wolves answered every punch Phoenix threw.

The Suns were deploying their two-big lineup late in the game, rotating two of Nurkic, Plumlee, and Ighodaro on the court at a time.

They got quality minutes out of Oso Ighodaro in this one, posting a career-high.

The Wolves cut the lead down to three thanks to some help from the refs and then eventually tied it after a Suns offensive foul and several trips to the line. The foul discrepancy was wild with a 26-13 personal fouls advantage for Minnesota.

Devin Booker had a chance to win it after a wild sequence with the score tied at 117. They missed several decent looks and it resulted in a game-winner from Julius Randle.

Up Next?

Suns vs. Magic at 7 p.m. AZ time in the Footprint Center tomorrow night.