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Wolves 123, Suns 119: The Future is Now

KAT & Ant team up for 40+ points... EACH.

By Leo Sun
NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves at Phoenix Suns Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

Since I know most of you Central Time Zoners might have missed the game, I’ll keep it nice and compact for ya’ll. I’ll sum up each quarter in just 1 sentence accompanied by some Twitter highlights. Sound good? Well, I can’t hear you either way.

Quarter 1

Suns commit 10 turnovers, Wolves unable to takeover.

Quarter 2

The bandwagon of Anthony Edwards, now known as Army Ants™, has entered.

Quarter 3

Wolves somehow survive the 3rd, ready for a 4th that’s absurd.

Quarter 4

Stop Edwards Phoenix Shan’t; It’s winning time for Ant.

To be honest, despite being proud of the 2-1 start after the all-star break, I still fully expected us to go 0-3 vs the Lakers and Suns (x2) this week. We were (mostly) competitive against the Lakers and early tonight in our first match-up against the Suns. Ant was hittin’ a big stride highlighted by some insane “Wow” moments. KAT seemed to be rounding back to form. Most importantly, we hadn’t surrendered nor jeopardized the best odds at keeping our 1st round pick! That’s all I was asking for as we neared the final 1⁄3 of the season.

It appeared we were in for our typically 2nd half squishing. Devin Booker was getting whatever he wanted in the 3rd quarter as he pushed the lead to 15, but the Wolves were able to keep pace on the backs of KAT and Ant. AKAT attack - or KAnt attack. Even early in the 4th, the putrid Suns bench was able to get the Suns back up double-digits, but I say once again: AKAT ATTACK. The 2 franchise cornerstones were able to will the Wolves ahead for the final 2:36. They played beautifully off of each other, setting each other up for 14 straight points during a point in that stretch. This is surely not an overreaction: It reminded me of when LeBron James and Kyrie Irving each went off for 41 in game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals.

With just 1:15 remaining, Harvey Finchman cross-examined the court. DeAndre Ayton had 5 fouls. KAT was having a strong offensive game. Top of the key: ISO. As KAT was beginning to dribble through his legs and stare Ayton down, DeAndre got his hands caught in the cookie jar and fouled out. 2 free throws good. 3 point lead. About 45 seconds later with 30 seconds left, up 3 with the ball, Ant had CP3 staring him down. KAT ran up to offer a screen, but Ant quickly waved him away. Rumor has it, Ant muttered:

“Move. I got this sh*t.”

Ant would blow right by the future Hall of Famer, cradle the ball into his buff muscles, and force the help defender (Jae Crowder) to completely rake him across the arms for a foul. Although he’d split the freebies (Hi Wigs!), the 3-point lead he’d help create would be just enough to put it away. Our old friend, Dario Saric (Hi Culver!), would do us a solid by also splitting a pair of his own free throws to only get the lead down to 2. To put even more optimism in our sails, Coach Finch would draw up a beautiful inbounds play that got Juancho (!) a wide open dunk which he would finish.

Take that, old man CP3!

The Highlights You Need

Game notes

  • Ricky Rubio, who just had one of his best games of the season versus the Lakers, was almost invisible in his first game back in Phoenix since being traded. He had just 6 points (20% FG) and 5 assists, but he also continues to have a lasting impact on our prized rookie.
  • Ant, just 4 days removed from netting a career-high 34 points against the Blazers, set another new record. He had 42 points on 30 shots, but most importantly displayed beautiful synergy with KAT. This may very well be the most important development of this franchise moving forward. He also continues to be a well of tasty quotes every day.
  • Speaking of the devil; We got positive Juancho Hernangomez minutes! He hit some BIG TIME shots tonight and Coach Finch was candid about his feelings on Juancho. Finch might not like this, but is it fair to ponder if Juancho could land us Bradley Beal?
  • KAT was amazing. This was the first game where it felt like he was truly playing like himself. He finished with 41 points on 24 shots (lmaooo), 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. Most importantly, we witnessed these moments after the game:
  • We’re going to run it back again tomorrow night and it’s unlikely Devin Booker is only going to score 35 points. Consider this: Book had just 2 shot attempts in the 4th quarter and scored his lone point on a free throw. A lot of that had to do with our scheme, but the majority of the credit has to go to Josh Okogie who was strongly recognized by his coach and teammates.