Timberwolves defeat the Suns to win their First Playoff Series in 20 Years

The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Phoenix Suns 4-0 to advance to the second round of the playoffs. It was an exciting game that saw head coach Chris Finch exit the game in the fourth quarter due to an unusual injury.

The Wolves have won a playoff series for the first time since 2004. It is also the first playoff sweep in the team’s history. They will almost definitely play the reigning NBA Champions, the Denver Nuggets, who are leading their series against the Los Angeles Lakers 3-1.

Karl-Anthony Towns kept the Wolves within striking distance in the first half, but Anthony Edwards took over in the second half, dominating from all sides of the floor en route to 40 points. The Suns, on the other hand, were playing with more resolve than at any other time in the series.

The only negative aspect of the Wolves’ evening was the apparent knee injury Chris Finch received after Devin Booker shoved him. Micah Nori took over for the final few minutes of play after Finch was assisted to a seat.

It was immediately evident that this would be the toughest test of the series for Finch’s team as the Suns went into the game fearing a sweep in front of their home crowd.

The Wolves’ offence was abysmal in the first half, hitting only 22% from three and 52% from the basket. To their credit, their defence trailed by just five points at the half.

However, they put on yet another impressive third-quarter display to get Phoenix closer, highlighted by an all-action display from Towns, who was scoring, battling, and grabbing rebounds to secure his finest game of the series.

Edwards, meanwhile, appeared to have regained his scoring touch. At one point, he made two threes in a row, sparking an 8-0 run that allowed the Wolves to overturn their deficit and grab the lead.

Although the Wolves had won the previous three games handily, the Suns took advantage of Rudy Gobert’s benching by Finch following his fourth foul as well as some lenient foul rulings by the officials in favour of Devin Booker.

Booker was playing brilliantly even without assistance, and the Suns were up going into the fourth quarter for the first time in the series because of him.

However, the Wolves neutralised every blow made by Phoenix, most notably by Edwards, who had an almost ridiculous second half performance, setting a Timberwolves record with eight straight 30+ point games in postseason action, with 31 of his 40 points coming in the second half.

Following Finch’s unusual injury, the Wolves managed to reduce the remaining time. Now that they know who their next opponents are, they can relax and have a well-earned nap.