National Basketball Association
Phoenix 125, Minnesota 109
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, December 9, 2019
Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Officials:
#82 Suyash Mehta, #31 Scott Wall, #30 John Goble
Attendance:
13230
By Field Level Media
Devin Booker had 26 points and three 3-pointers, and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 24 points on his 24th birthday when the host Phoenix Suns pulled away from the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 125-109 victory Monday night.
Dario Saric had 20 points and was a rebound short of his fifth double-double in the last eight games, and Ricky Rubio added 16 points and 14 assists for the Suns, who beat Timberwolves for the second time in 17 days to get within one game of .500.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 33 points and 15 rebounds, Andrew Wiggins put up 23 points, and Jeff Teague had 16 points and four assists off the bench for the Timberwolves, whose season-long losing streak reached five games.
The teams yo-yoed through 15 lead changes and 16 ties through the first 27 minutes before the Suns opened some space when Booker made back-to-back 3-pointers for a 73-68 lead. The Suns gradually pulled away, stretching their lead to as many as 19. Minnesota was never closer than seven in the final nine minutes after Cameron Johnson's trey made it 100-90.
Suns center Aron Baynes, who had missed the previous four games and nine of the past 10 due to injuries, had 12 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes. His 3-pointer late in the third quarter made it 92-81, the Suns' largest lead to that point.
The Suns made 16 of 40 3-point attempts, their eighth game with at least 15 makes this season. Oubre, Saric, Rubio, Johnson, Baynes and Frank Kaminsky had two 3-pointers apiece.
Rubio has at least 13 assists in his last three games and at least nine assists in six straight games, the longest streak by a Suns player since Goran Dragic in March 2013. The Suns have 29 or more assists in their past seven, their longest stretch since 2007.
Minnesota lost all four games on the trip that ended in Phoenix, by a total of 52 points. They gave up 121, 137 and 142 points in the first three losses.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Minnesota |
|
Phoenix |
|
Karl-Anthony Towns 33 |
Scoring |
Devin Booker 26 |
|
Jeff Teague 4 |
Assists |
Ricky Rubio 14 |
|
Karl-Anthony Towns 15 |
Rebounds |
Dario Saric 9 |
|
Karl-Anthony Towns 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Kelly Oubre Jr. 6 |
|
Josh Okogie 2 |
Steals |
Mikal Bridges 3 |
|
Karl-Anthony Towns 2 |
Blocks |
Mikal Bridges 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Minnesota
|
109 |
47.1 |
6-22 |
23-29 |
14 |
45 |
7 |
6 |
17 |
| Phoenix
|
125 |
49.5 |
16-40 |
15-19 |
31 |
42 |
5 |
5 |
9 |
Upcoming Games
-
Phoenix will play their next game at home against Memphis. The Suns have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .692 after a loss.
-
Minnesota will play their next game at home against Utah. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .462 after a loss.
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