Jaden McDaniels scores 25, plays defense to put Timberwolves up 2-0 over Suns

MINNÉPOLIS (AP) – Jaden McDaniels scored a career-best 25 points in the playoffs and led another suffocating defensive performance from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 105-93 victory over the Phoenix Suns to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series on Tuesday night. .

Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert each added 18 points to help the Timberwolves offset the Suns’ stifling of Anthony Edwards, who held the All-Star to 15 points after allowing him 33 in the opener. Edwards was 3-for-12 from the floor.

The teams head to Phoenix for Game 3 on Friday night. Minnesota has held a 2-0 series lead just one more time in franchise history, against Denver in the first round in 2004, en route to a 4-1 series victory.

Devin Booker scored 20 points, Kevin Durant added 18 and sixth man Eric Gordon had 15 for the Suns, who once again failed to get their high-octane offense into gear. The big three of Booker, Durant and Bradley Beal combined to shoot 18-for-45, with McDaniels leading the list of reasons for the drop.

After building an eight-point lead in the second quarter and taking a 51-50 halftime lead, the Suns wore down as Karl-Anthony Towns (12 points) surged forward after early foul trouble.

Phoenix lost starting guard Grayson Allen to an aggravated ankle sprain in the third quarter, during which the Wolves used a 12-0 run to create some breathing room. Edwards hit a 22-footer on Durant during that surge to make it 70-63, and the momentum — and the crowd noise — continued into the fourth quarter.

Conley found Gobert with a bounced pass in the pick-and-roll for an easy slam and an 84-76 lead that the Wolves later extended to 19 points, before the 17-year veteran point guard sank an electrifying 3-pointer. the arena. The “Wolves in 4!” corner appeared in the final minutes.

The Wolves used their lockdown defense to stifle two-thirds of Phoenix’s big three and a heavy dose of Edwards on offense to secure a 25-point victory in Game 1 on Saturday.

Suns coach Frank Vogel said the 22-year-old rising star needed to see five bodies every time he had the ball, and the Suns never hesitated to send multiple defenders into his space.

The Timberwolves had a hard time making them pay, going 9 of 32 from 3-point range. The bench production that helped them dominate the opener has diminished. The whistles were more accurate this time, leading to a three-point foul in the first quarter for Towns that kept him out until halftime.

But McDaniels, Gobert and everyone else wisely attacked the basket with abandon, ensuring the Wolves could use their size advantage internally.

They also passed the maturity test. Booker slammed his forearms into McDaniels after a missed elbow, prompting a reckless shove from McDaniels that earned him a technical foul. But the fiery 23-year-old recovered well after that.

Jusuf Nurkic (10 points, 14 rebounds) helped negate some of Gobert’s award-winning, shot-altering defense. After the Timberwolves set a franchise playoff record with a 24-plus rebound margin, the Suns took a 41-39 lead.