Suns roll past Timberwolves for 5th straight win

Cameron Johnson fired 7-of-11 from three-point range and scored 29 points to pace the Phoenix Suns to a 116-107 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, November 1 (Wednesday, November 2, Manila time).

Mikal Bridges scored 19 points and Devin Booker had 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists as the Suns won their fifth consecutive game. Chris Paul contributed 15 points, 12 assists, and 8 rebounds for Phoenix.

Karl-Anthony Towns recorded 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists for the Timberwolves, who lost to the Suns for the eighth time in the past nine meetings. Anthony Edwards also scored 24 points, while Naz Reid added 13 and fellow reserve Jaylen Nowell had 10 for Minnesota.

Suns big man Deandre Ayton (ankle) missed his second straight contest.

With the win, the Suns stayed on top of the Western Conference at 6-1.

Phoenix shot 46.1% from the field, including 17-of-43 from three-point range. Bismack Biyombo had 4 blocked shots for the Suns.

The Timberwolves connected on 42.5% of their attempts and were 13-of-34 from behind the arc.

Minnesota trailed by as many as 18 points in the third quarter before making a run in the final stanza.

Edwards made two triples in 26 seconds to cap a 10-0 spurt that brought the Timberwolves within 87-85 with 8:36 left.

But the Suns answered with an inside hoop by Biyombo and a three-pointer by Johnson to lead by 7 points with 7:43 to play.

Paul’s 15-footer gave Phoenix a 96-88 lead with 6:25 remaining. Johnson buried his seventh trey to increase the margin to 11 with 5:22 left.

Bridges later made back-to-back baskets to push the lead to 105-91 with 3:16 to go and the Suns closed it out.

Phoenix led by seven points at halftime before opening the third quarter with a 15-5 burst to open up a 69-52 lead on Booker’s 3-pointer with 7:57 remaining.

Booker drilled another trey less than three minutes later to give the Suns a 74-56 advantage.

Minnesota used an 11-2 run later in the period to pull within eight before Torrey Craig connected on a three-pointer with 5.8 seconds remaining to give Phoenix an 84-73 lead.

Johnson scored 17 first-half points to help the Suns hold a 54-47 advantage at the break. Edwards scored 15 for Minnesota. – Rappler.com