NBA: Julius Randle, Timberwolves ease to victory over Suns

Julius Randle scored 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting as the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 116-104 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.

Bones Hyland added 22 points off the bench, while Ayo Dosunmu contributed 19 and Jaden McDaniels finished with 16. The Timberwolves bounced back from a 13-point road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their previous game.

Devin Booker led Phoenix with 34 points in 35 minutes, but the Suns dropped their third consecutive game. Oso Ighodaro added 16 points, and Collin Gillespie scored 12 despite missing nine of his 13 shots.

Minnesota outscored Phoenix 52-41 in the second half to secure the win. The Suns struggled with their shooting down the stretch while playing for the second consecutive night.

The Timberwolves opened the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run, highlighted by a driving layup from Dosunmu, seven points from Randle, and a layup by Kyle Anderson, building a 15-point lead. Phoenix cut the deficit to nine with 1:47 left on a basket by Jordan Goodwin but never got closer.

Minnesota led 92-86 at the end of the third quarter. The Suns had briefly taken a 76-75 lead after a running layup by Booker with 5:02 remaining in the period. Minnesota then scored 17 of the final 27 points to turn the one-point deficit into a six-point lead.

The Timberwolves played without top scorer Anthony Edwards, who was sidelined due to a right knee injury. Edwards is expected to be re-evaluated in one to two weeks after an MRI showed inflammation. Minnesota’s injury issues continued when Naz Reid left the game in the first half with a sprained right ankle. He returned to the bench after halftime and re-entered in the third quarter.

-Field Level Media/Reuters