“ The Wolves in four! The Wolves in four! » The audience at the Target Center is greedy. That night, he saw his team, led by a great Jaden McDaniels (25 points) confirm its domination over the Suns by winning, again authoritatively, the second round of the series (105-93). The scenario of a “sweep” is still distant, but the Suns are obliged to react during Game 3 at home.
Unlike the first round, the Wolves did not need a huge Anthony Edwards, in scoring at least, because the fullback was omnipresent in the game, including in defense. Quickly hampered by mistakes, Karl-Anthony Towns was not a huge offensive factor either. The locals had to look for other resources, like veterans Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley, impeccable in their register.
But the X factor of this evening was of course Jaden McDaniels, author of his best outing in the playoffs. Less targeted than the others by the Suns defense, he regularly outpaced his opponents in the intervals, opening the way to easy baskets under the circle. His 3-pointer five minutes from the end had the value of a “dagger”, because it gave his team a 19-point lead, the biggest gap of the match (102-83).
No space for the Suns
The Suns then sank after remaining in contact with the Wolves for a long time. After a very complicated start to the shooting game, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal reacted well in the second quarter, at the end of which they returned to the locker room with the smallest possible lead (50-51). But the rare spaces found during this period were quickly forgotten upon recovery.
Jaden McDaniels and the Wolves have seriously tightened their defensive bolts, making the slightest shot, the slightest transmission difficult. We think of Kevin Durant who missed two easy shots at the start of the third quarter under the circle due to the intimidating presence of Rudy Gobert, or Edwards' authoritarian counter on Beal. In this context, the Wolves scored a 12-0 to take control (72-63).
The Suns thought for a time of reacting, the men of Minnesota followed up with an 11-0 at the start of the fourth quarter, always on the basis of an oppressive defense, and collective intelligence on the other side of the ground. Frank Vogel lost his cool (technical foul), Rudy Gobert countered Drew Eubanks near the circle and McDaniels was responsible for extinguishing the hopes of the visitors, shaken after these two meetings.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Grayson Allen aggravates ankle injury. More bad news for the men of Arizona. At the start of the third quarter, the Suns shooter landed badly on Mike Conley's foot while trying to contest his shot. The right ankle, already affected during the first match, turned. Head to the locker room, with a grimace on the face of the full-back who had converted only one of his two shot attempts at this point in the match. He had not been a factor in Game 1, but his absence would deprive the Suns of a great asset for the rest of the events.
– After a lost ball, the Wolves punish in abundance. The main statistical gap between the two teams is at this level. The Suns lost six more balls than their opponents, but it was above all the consequences of these lost balls which were costly: the Wolves scored 31 points after generating these ball losses, compared to only 2 for the Suns… Between a ball which escaped from the hands of Jusuf Nurkic under the circle or a disagreement between Devin Booker and Bradley Beal after a simple pick-and-roll (Booker sent the ball behind Beal and the ball ended up in the stands), the Suns signed a disastrous start to the fourth quarter in this regard.
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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.
