Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images Anthony Edwards put the Suns into submission. Bradley Beal said he would be damned if he would be swept out of an NBA playoff series. With the Phoenix Suns seemingly out of hope, it seems the path is now inevitable. Beal and others were expected to lift the Suns out of the basketball hell they have been in for 55 years without an NBA championship. Phoenix instead suffered an embarrassing home defeat, 125-109, for the third straight season in Game 3 of its first-round series as the No. 6 seed against a third-seed Minnesota Timberwolves for the that left thirsting basketball fans humiliated and depleted even more than they were before. The Timberwolves now lead the series, 3-0, putting the Suns on the brink of elimination with a star-laden roster that includes Beal, who had 28 points, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. “Damn sure, my mindset,” said Beal, whose contract that is the only one in the NBA with a no-trade clause, exceeding $50 million in each of the next two seasons will have the Suns struggling out of a financial grip if they do not have a miracle to come back and win this first-round series. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, have their first 3-0 series lead in franchise history. They were led by guard Anthony Edwards, whose 36 points and a series of “DX — a WWE celebration — chops to his crotch put the Suns in submission. On your turf. pic.twitter.com/VJPuxiJLDC— Trevor Booth (@TrevorMBooth) April 27, 2024 Phoenix’s fanbase is desperate for a winner. The Suns’ franchise star, Devin Booker, waited nine years to build a “superteam” with two other stars, Durant and Beal. Phoenix became a second-apron team that seemed unwilling to bend its mindset in this new era of NBA roster-building. The Suns are fully healthy, something fans have been waiting for. Instead, many walked out of the Footprint Center concourse early in the beatdown of a third quarter that echoed the demons of a 33-point home loss to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in 2022 and an embarrassing 25-point loss to the defending champion Denver Nuggets in 2023. While the beatdown ensued and bad vibes returned, Mat Ishbia and James Jones were shown on ESPN’s broadcast in disgust. The experiment that now has the Suns $16.5 million over the second apron with a large sum of their roster under the financial restrictions of Durant, Booker, Beal and guard Grayson Allen, who signed a four-year, $70 million extension this month, has the team with its chips all in and quite literally zero reward. The series is not over, says Booker, who is the mayor of Phoenix by his investment into the city as a player and person. “Take it possession by possession….I remember going to the bubble and it was the same thing. We had to win 8 to even have a chance, and you just break ‘em down,” he said. The Suns need a miracle to change the mood of this back-breaking sequence at the hands of Edwards and his teammates. The tension in the Suns’ home building was paralyzing. Phoenix is looking to win its first-ever championship but has collapsed in its most anticipated year. The Suns’ home crowd, known for its palpable noise, became full of dread late in the third quarter when the Timberwolves went on a 12-4 run and silenced the 17,071 fans in Footprint Center. Minnesota’s offense which is pedestrian outside of Edwards, who finished with 36 points including 18 in the final quarter, beat up the Suns’ Big 3 of Beal, Durant and Booker who have struggled to score over 100 points against the team with the top-rated defense. “We got outplayed,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “That’s on all of us; win as a team, lose as a team. We got killed on the boards. “I thought our guys gave the effort, but it wasn’t enough.” Just to get in the postseason, the Suns needed to complete a regular season that included 10 games against playoff opponents, including the Timberwolves. Phoenix took it to Minnesota and achieved double-digit wins in the final month of the season. Saturday, the Timberwolves’ Edwards proved he is becoming one of the stars of the NBA. Not only did Edwards outscore each of Booker, Durant and Beal, he did a “crotch chop” in front of a Phoenix crowd that was humiliated by a team that has failed to give a dying fan base any sort of pride. It was the perfect moment to categorize the frustration, soulless performances and failure that debilitated the most anticipated Phoenix sports team in its history. Edwards even laughed postgame as he admittedly tried to get teammate and Wolves center Rudy Gobert in on the celebration to put Suns fans in a cycle of pouting and finger-pointing for the three seasons following a third NBA Finals. Anthony Edwards said he was trying to get Rudy Gobert to join him in his late-game his celebration. pic.twitter.com/JASKGi91a9— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) April 27, 2024 Images of Jones, the Suns’ GM, drew ire from fans at the game and on social media, calling for his dismissal. Some are yet to know that a majority of decisions have been made by majority owner Mat Ishbia, who since he has whacked a basketball out of the NBA’s best player, Nikola Jokic’s arms, has yet to see his team win in the playoffs. Ishbia came into Phoenix’s front office flashing value and a promise to win. The Suns still have another game to avoid elimination but his offseason will be cuffed by a salary and luxury bill that already has the team $16.2 million over the NBA’s second apron with little to no draft capital over the next five years if they lose. While those ideas started to form an unsettling reality for the Suns, Edwards reminded them they are in a metaphorical hell, thrusting his hips with the prospect of that image being a symbol for the present and near future. Phoenix will try to save its season Sunday. Source: https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2024 ... ny-edwards