The Phoenix Suns know they need to revive their offense to break out of their skid.
But it’s one thing to know you need to score. It’s another thing to actually do it.
The Suns will look to bounce back from their lowest-scoring game of the season when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Phoenix has lost back-to-back games and three of its last four, including a 99-83 road setback against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. The Suns shot 29.3 percent (22 of 75) overall and 24.3 percent (9 of 37) from beyond the arc.
“We played great defense,” Suns veteran Royce O’Neale said. “Offensively, we missed a lot of shots, especially wide open.”
Phoenix coach Mike Budenholzer agreed.
“We’ve probably got to play a little bit better offensively,” he said. “That’s the great thing about playing great teams and great defenses. They test you. They make you learn what you’ve got to work on, how you’ve got to be better.
“We’ll learn from (Friday night) and be better.”
The Timberwolves hope to keep the Suns searching for answers.
Minnesota returns home after a disappointing road trip that included two straight losses against the Portland Trail Blazers, followed by a 130-126 overtime win against the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
Anthony Edwards scored a team-high 36 points on 14-for-27 shooting to lead the Timberwolves to their latest victory. Julius Randle scored 26 points and Rudy Gobert notched a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“This game was super important,” Edwards said. “I’m glad we were able to come out with the win.”
The Timberwolves feature five players who average double digits in scoring.
Edwards leads the group with 28.4 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting from the field. Randle is next with 20.6 points and Naz Reid is contributing 15.4 points in about 25 minutes off the bench.
Gobert (10.8 points) and Jaden McDaniels (10.1) round out the top five.
Phoenix is without top scorer Kevin Durant, who is averaging 27.6 points but is sidelined by a calf injury. Fellow veteran Bradley Beal, who is third on the team with 17.8 points, also is dealing with a calf injury.
That leaves the bulk of the scoring responsibility to Devin Booker, who ranks second with 22.5 points on 42.3 percent shooting from the floor. Booker struggled against Oklahoma City on Friday, when he was held scoreless in the first half and finished with 12 points on 2-for-10 shooting.
“They put two people on him pretty much every time he had it,” Budenholzer said. “There was a ton of attention on him.”
This is the Suns’ first visit to Minnesota since last season’s first-round playoff series between the teams. The Timberwolves swept the Suns 4-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinals.
Minnesota posted home victories against Phoenix by margins of 120-95 and 105-93 to open the series. The teams then traveled to Phoenix, where the Timberwolves recorded victories of 126-109 and 122-116 to secure a trip to the conference semifinals.
–Field Level Media