The change of room changed nothing on either side. Anthony Edwards and the Wolves confirmed this feeling of domination released during the first two meetings by winning with authority in Phoenix (109-126). Author of 36 points, the Wolves rear showed the way, alongside five other players with 13 points or more.
Leading 3-0 in a series is a first in the history of the Minnesota franchise. Deprived of Grayson Allen (ankle) and carried by their “Big Three” last night (all by more than 20 points), the Suns will now avoid going out through the back door of the “sweep”…
After a very competitive first period, with a slight advantage for the Wolves (53-59), where their domination in the paint and on rebounds was already in place, the visitors will accelerate. The third quarter took on the appearance of a butchery.
With on one side, a team blatantly lacking in fluidity, which had so much difficulty circulating the ball and generating space and good shots in the face of the defensive seriousness displayed by the opposing team. And when the one-on-one shots on a half-court game didn't go in, the Suns couldn't hide their signs of feverishness.
The trust of one team, the doubts of the other
We think of Bradley Beal with ball in hand who, after a screen received from Eric Gordon, made a slight gesture with his hand as if to ask his partners to move. And these small details, like these poorly assured transmissions: a pass from Beal into the knees of Devin Booker, another poorly adjusted pass from Jusuf Nurkic to Beal… A terrible lack of rigor while Frank Vogel signaled at the break that the “50/ 50 balls” killed his team.
Opposite impressions on the Wolves side who, like Anthony Edwards, continued to make the right choices in attack, exploiting the slightest size advantage or defensive oversight from the Suns. Like this award-winning “trailer” shot from Karl-Anthony Towns, left alone at the head of the racket. Based on this long-distance skill, the Wolves went on a 12-2 run to escape.
While the television lingered on the anxious faces of James Jones and Mat Ishbia, Nickeil Alexander-Walker continued his festival behind the arc to give his team more than 20 points in advance (95-73). The start of a revolt will be sounded in the following minutes, with the return of Josh Okogie and a renewed long-distance skill from the Suns stars.
But in the heart of a Footprint Center stunned overall, the Suns were unable to get back below 10 points. While Rudy Gobert was the victim of a Flagrante II from Josh Okogie (sent off) on the counter-attack, Anthony Edwards and the Wolves, who finished the match without recalling Karl-Anthony Towns on the field (to adapt to the “small ball” opposite), did not panic.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the X factor. Already very inspired during the first round with his 18 points, the replacement further harmed the Suns defense at a key moment. In this case in this big third quarter where the back planted four prize-winning baskets to widen the gap, taking advantage of the altruism and the spaces generated by his teammates.
– The internal scarcity. We knew that issues related to the domestic sector were going to be closely scrutinized in this series. Tonight, the gap between the two teams in this area has probably never been so obvious. The Suns finished with 28 small rebounds captured, or… 22 fewer than their opponents (50), who captured three times as many offensive rebounds (15-5). The big gap is also verified in the points in the racket (56-36). Difficult to impose yourself in this context.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
