The Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns‘ first-round series are now the most heated matchup in the NBA. Devin Booker and Anthony Edwards’ equivalent of Kevin Durant exchanged plenty of verbal jabs at each other during the last quarter of the game. As Booker maneuvered through the tough defense to cut down a 21-point deficit, Jaden McDaniels grabbed his left arm to disable an open look.

After the obvious foul, Jaden initiated the dispute by snatching the ball out of Devin Booker‘s hand, only for Booker to time and smack it out of Jaden’s hand. As McDaniels ignited the feud with a verbal spew, Booker retaliated, forcing the arena to heat up. Soon, teammates, staff, referees, and security swarmed around the two players. Luckily, there was no physical altercation, as the refs diffused the situation with a double technical.

The Suns failed to marks a comeback, or anything close of it during the near 9 minutes remaining in the fourth. Phoenix finally saw their talented backcourt churning up decent numbers, combining for 76 points. Booker was kept to 8-15 shooting from the floor, posting 23 points and 8 assists. Kevin Durant scored 25 points on a 8-18 display while Bradley Beal garnered team-high 28 points on 10-19 efficiency.

However, the remaining roster could only score 33 points. They connected on just 9 off 24 attempts, making up for a dim 37.5%. On the other hand, the Wolves won the game solely through the roster outside of their big-3.

T-Wolves role players stepped up

The Wolves’ clinched the Game 3 126-109 behind a tremendous team display. Anthony Edwards posted a game high 36 points and 9 rebounds. Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony Towns posted double-doubles, 19 points with 14 rebound and 18 points alongside 13 rebounds respectively. That’s nearly as much points as the Suns’ trio.

With that, their pivotal winning factor comes from their rotation, as 4 starters and 2 bench players touched the double digit scoring. In light of the Suns’ roster, Wolves’ supporting cast put up 40 shots from all over the field, converting 18 of them for a 45% shooting touch. The Suns face a near 15 point margin against the Wolves throughout the series, and had their role players put with the T-Wolves, the game could have provided KD or Booker with a final possession.

However, the Phoenix now fall to a 0-3 record. They are now against a fiery Minnesota crew and a history that is yet to see a team come out of a 0-3 rut in any playoff round. The Wolves will now rest until Sunday night, when they look to mark an early advancement to the first round after another win at the Footprint Center.

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