MINNEAPOLIS — Deandre Ayton scored a career-high 35 points and had 14 rebounds, Devin Booker had 22 of his 28 points in the second half and the Phoenix Suns surged past the trash-talking Minnesota Timberwolves 125-116 on Wednesday night.
Landry Shamet scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to help fuel the rally and bring the NBA-leading Suns within one win — or Memphis loss — of wrapping up homecourt advantage for the entire playoffs. The Suns, 18-4 in their last 22 games and 59-14 overall, have a nine-game lead with nine games left.
Anthony Edwards scored 19 points for Minnesota, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 15 points and 11 rebounds — but only three points and three rebounds in the second half after he woke up the Suns with his trash-talking late the first.
The Timberwolves dropped 1.5 games behind Denver for the No. 6 seed that avoids the play-in tournament. Minnesota has its first two-game losing streak since Feb. 9-11.
Short-handed Phoenix won its sixth straight and completed its first sweep of three or more games against Minnesota in 11 seasons.
The Timberwolves had a 15-point lead in the third quarter and were still up 88-83 at the start of the fourth, but went cold and their energy was sapped.
Shamet gave the Suns their first lead at 95-94 with a pair of free throws with 8:35 to go, and the Timberwolves trailed the rest of the way.
This matchup of two of the four highest-scoring teams in the NBA — the Timberwolves are first — had the fast pace to go with it, plus plenty of postseason-style intensity.
The Suns, who have confidently maintained their comfortable margin for the NBA's best record without the playmaking and leadership of 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul for the last month, fell behind 15-4 early and 66-51 shortly after halftime.
The bright side to the absence of Paul, who has been making incremental progress and appears to be nearing a return, has been elevated roles and responsibilities for others like Bridges and Shamet. The Suns also are missing sixth-man Cam Johnson.
Sporting a 11-4 record since Paul broke his right thumb, the Suns never flinched against a promising team trying to make its way up with young energy, a deep offense and a dose of bravado.
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