Despite boasting a star-studded lineup on the offensive side of the ball, the Phoenix Suns are struggling a lot to begin the postseason. Even with the scoring trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Eric Gordon, the team has struggled to make their mark against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs.
Coming off a disappointing 105-93 loss in Game 2, the Suns are facing a potential 3-0 series deficit. However, stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker remained confident despite Game 2’s loss, sending strong messages to their fans that they should not count them out when there’s still a series left to play.
After an embarrassing 120-95 loss in Game 1, Phoenix showcased more emphasis on playing better defense against Minnesota’s stars. Anthony Edwards, who had 33 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the field in Game 1, regressed to 15 points on 3-of-12 shooting overall. Karl-Anthony Towns also saw his impact limited due to foul trouble, getting 12 points and eight rebounds in just 24 minutes of action.
However, what the Suns didn’t take into account was one of Minnesota’s role players going on a scoring tear Tuesday night. Jaden McDaniels, who is the primary defender on Durant, led all players in scoring with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Booker scored 20 points, Durant added 18, and sixth-man Eric Gordon had 15 for the Suns, who again were unable to reach the 100-point mark for the second consecutive game despite the offensive weapons they have in their arsenal.
The big three of Booker, Durant, and Beal scored 52 of Phoenix’s 93 points but did so on 45 shot attempts for an inefficient accuracy of 40 percent. McDaniels played a key role in disrupting the Suns’ offense throughout Tuesday night as well as Game 1.
A strong victory it was for Minnesota to defend homecourt and take a 2-0 series lead. Not only that, they kept Phoenix under 100 points for the second straight game, indicating their defense has been hard to break for the Suns’ offense.
Phoenix faces a tough road for the remainder of this series. They may have the home fans on their side for Games 3 and 4, but if they can’t get more production from Durant, Booker, and Beal as well as their supporting cast, their chances of winning would become more difficult to fathom.
