The Suns got beat bad by the Celtics. Greg Moore, Duane Rankin explain
The Phoenix Suns lost to the Boston Celtics by a score of 132-102. Suns reporter Duane Rankin and columnist Greg Moore break it down.
MINNEAPOLIS – The Phoenix Suns followed their second-worst loss of the season with another lopsided defeat, 124-109, to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night at Target Center.
The T-Wolves (42-32) led by as many as 22 points in sweeping the season series against the Suns, 4-0. Phoenix lost by 30 Wednesday night, March 26, to defending NBA champion Boston to end a five-game homestand after winning four straight games.
The Suns (35-39) are now a game behind Dallas for the 10th seed and final play-in spot in the Western Conference. They trail Sacramento by 1½ games for ninth.
Devin Booker went scoreless in the first half in finishing with 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting. He missed all six of his 3-point attempts.
Kevin Durant scored 23 points to lead the Suns while Collin Gillespie added a career-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting to go with a career-high 10 assists for Phoenix. The two-way player shot 4-of-5 from 3.
Royce O’Neale scored 21 points off the bench, going 7-of-12 from 3.
T-Wolves forward Julius Randle led all scorers with 25 points. Anthony Edwards returned from missing the entire second quarter with a nasal contusion to score 17 of his 20 points in the second half.
The Suns next play Sunday at home against Houston.
Devin Booker finally scored, Anthony Edwards started the second half back on the court and Minnesota increased its lead on the Phoenix Suns.
The T-Wolves led by 22 points in the third quarter, taking a 92-75 advantage going into the fourth.
Booker finally scored after a scoreless first half. He’s 1-of-9 from the field, going 0-for-5 from 3.
Collin Gillespie leads the Suns with a career-high 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He’s 3-of-3 from 3. Kevin Durant has 16 points while Royce O’Neale has 12.
Julius Randle is up to 25 points. Jaden McDaniels has 16 points, Rudy Gobert has already generated a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Edwards now has 12 points.
The T-Wolves have won seven straight games on the Suns dating back to last season’s playoffs when they swept Phoenix in the first round.
Devin Booker has yet to score as he’s 0-for-5 from the field, going 0-for-3 from 3 as the Suns are down 57-45, at half to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Booker last had a scoreless half on Nov. 15 at Oklahoma City when he didn’t score in the first half of a 99-83 loss.
Royce O’Neale and Kevin Durant each have 12 points to lead the Suns, who are 11th in the West.
Julius Randle has a game-high 16 points, six assists and five rebounds. The T-Wolves have been without Anthony Edwards since late the first quarter. Edwards and Durant collided going for a loose ball and it appeared Durant caught Edwards in the face.
Edwards has just three points on 1-of-5 shooting.
The Suns trail 27-21 after one after being down as many as 12 points in the quarter.
Anthony Edwards checked out the game with 2:43 left in the first quarter as he and Kevin Durant collided on a loose ball. It appeared Durant caught Edwards in the face on the play as he was called for a foul.
Edwards stayed on the court face first for a few minutes before turning over on his back and being tended to by T-Wolves trainers.
He has yet to return to the game and no update has been provided yet.
Suns sticking with same lineup after 30-point loss to Boston
Suns coach Mike Budenholzer isn’t letting an ugly loss make him change up his starting lineup.
He’s sticking with two-way player Collin Gillespie at point guard to start along with Devin Booker, rookie Ryan Dunn, Kevin Durant and Nick Richards. Gillespie is starting for injured Bradley Beal.
Gillespie is averaging 6.2 points and shooting 41.2% from 3 in his five starts. Phoenix is 4-1 in those games.
“Just try to keep doing the little things,” Gillespie said before Friday’s game. “Try to help us win games in any way I can. Be ready to catch and shoot, play off (Durant and Booker) and just to affect winning. Picking up full (court), picking the pace up doing little things. Defend, rebound, all of that stuff.”
Injury report: Beal remains out for the Suns
Phoenix guard Bradley Beal will miss his sixth straight game as he recovers from a left hamstring strain. He made the trip with the team, which suggests he may be close to returning.
The only other Suns’ players on the injury report are G League/two-way players Jalen Bridge and TyTy Washington Jr., who are listed as out.
Minnesota lists Terrence Shannon Jr. as questionable with right groin soreness. Listed out are G League/two-way players Tristen Newton and Leonard Miller.
