Photo by Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images What was a game to the bitter end, the Suns fall short and are now headed to the offseason early. In a battle to the end, the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Phoenix Suns 122-116 and are headed to the second round of the playoffs. A game that had 23 lead changes and 21 ties, made every possession so valuable. Back and forth both teams went, and it came down to what team could hit the big shots in the end. Trying to stay alive against a team that has Anthony Edwards (40 points) is a tall task. It was a high-scoring game but there were a lot of difficult shots hit by both teams. Both Devin Booker (49 points) and Kevin Durant (33 points) played this game like it was their last. Like it should have been played. All effort was left on the court. I can’t say the same for Bradley Beal, who seemed to struggle with his issues on the floor and had a difficult time staying out of foul trouble, fouling out late in the fourth quarter. A long painful season is now over. The Suns left a mark on this town that will lead to drastic changes to come. Until next year! Game Flow First Half The Wolves’ defense left Jusuf Nurkic alone to begin the game giving up two easy dunks. With that said, the game became a little stuffy and Head Coach Frank Vogel replaced Nurkic (grabbing two fouls early) with Eric Gordon to shrink the Suns and see if they could can some steam from three. With the five-out offense in effect, Booker forced his way to the rim to gain steam and break the Wolves’ defense from within. It led to little success and the Suns could not get any flow going early. The Wolves held a 13-9 lead heading into the night’s first timeout behind eight points from Jaden McDaniels. Unlike game three, the Suns managed to grab a lead in the first quarter behind physical play and getting to the free throw line. With Josh Okogie making an early appearance, the Suns were showing signs of changing things up Playing man to man full court and making the Wolves work for everything. The Suns held the Wolves to 24% shooting from the field and 1-8 from three heading into the second quarter. With that, the Suns only held a 26-25 lead behind Booker scoring nine and Royce O'Neal grabbing three offensive rebounds. Vogel continued with his adjustments, bringing in Nassir Little off the bench to help defensively on Towns and maybe for a little bit of shooting. He was a longer body to throw at him but Towns was able to hit two of his first three shots, and the Wolves were able to keep the game tied halfway through the second quarter. The Wolves were able to get second-chance opportunities but struggled to take advantage of them. The Suns on the other hand were struggling to keep their offense alive and battled with each other through the tough times. Both Booker and Durant exchanged words after a mishap and a turnover by Booker. The margin for error was small and you could feel it in the arena. Entering the half, things were still tight with the the Suns taking a 61-56 lead. Both Durant and Booker combined for 37 points and the Suns seemed to have a little more hype heading into halftime in game four with Booker hitting a buzzer-beater, sending the crowd into a frenzy. It was a bad first half for the Wolves from the field, shooting 38%, but they managed to stay in the game by getting to the line and hitting 18 of their 20 free throws. BOOKER AT THE BUZZER pic.twitter.com/0qWiTPMzQ9— Cage (@ridiculouscage) April 29, 2024 Second Half The Suns came out hot to start the second half but lapsed on the defensive glass and the hustle to get back and stop the ball led to the Wolves taking a two-point lead. With every shot made by Booker and Durant, who controlled the first part of the third quarter, either Reid or Edwards would knock down a big three to maintain their small lead. Vogel managed to call great timeouts early in the quarter to help from letting the game get out of control. You could feel that the Wolves were about to get out on a run behind Edwards getting to the rim at will, but the lead remained minimal for the Wolves at 79-77 at the 4:51 mark. Struggling to pull away from the Wolves, the Suns were incapable of controlling Edwards, who scored 15 in the third. Their inability to grab the defensive rebounds giving up six offensive rebounds made this a game heading into the fourth with the Suns holding on to a 92-90 lead. Down by one at the 7:30 mark, the Wolves held a one-point lead and looked to have almost every opportunity to go on a run. To be honest, the game felt over at this point. The more and more I watched this team end the game the more everything still seemed so blurry. The Suns were scrabbling for ways to talk things over on the bench but nothing was translating on the court. By clawing their way to the free throw line, the Suns held in there to the bitter end. Outlasting a Wolves team held together by Edwards was almost impossible, and it was. With the Suns journey falling short, the Wolves continue to the next round after a 122-116 victory. Next Up The damn offseason. Source: https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2024 ... ng-122-116