NBA highlights on April 5: T-Wolves pay for poor offense in loss to Suns

The Phoenix Suns beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 97-87 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday, securing their third straight win. They have solidified their position at sixth place in the Western Conference, one game above the New Orleans Pelicans, with five more games to go in the regular season.

It's rare for neither side to reach 100 points in a game in today's NBA. The Suns had five players, all in the starting lineup, score double-digit points, but only two of them surpassed 20. Only two Timberwolves got more than 10 points and their highest scorer was Anthony Edwards with 17 points. It took him 19 field goal (FG) attempts to get those points. He delivered three assists, but at the cost of four turnovers.

The Suns' defensive rating of 115.5 this season only ranks at 13th place of all 30 teams, not exactly qualifying them as a good defensive team. Of course, most of their players worked hard to implement coach Frank Vogel's correct policy. They always had extra defenders waiting to prevent Edwards' penetration, both to slow him down and intercept his passes.

As a result, Edwards, the Timberwolves' senior leader, missed six of his 10 shots under the hoop. He tried to respond to the opponents' defense by pulling up to fire jumpers both in the middle range and outside the 3-point line, but only made two of his nine attempts in these two areas.

This wasn't the first time Edwards was exposed for his offensive flaws by an opposing team's well-designed defense. He doesn't have consistent jump shooting. When he can't charge the rim at full speed, a solid big man like Jusuf Nurkic can make effective deflections to upset his finishing. Moreover, though Edwards has been trying to develop his passing skills, he doesn't run the game like a true playmaker. Instead of scanning the floor before making a move, he drives first and thinks about his next move later, which makes his passing very predictable.

The rest of the Timberwolves failed to do enough to support Edwards. The whole team shot as poorly at 38.8 percent from the field. Naz Reed, who was supposed to be their second major source of firepower, saw 10 of his 13 FGs end as bricks and committed five turnovers. Rudy Gobert could only collect four points and six rebounds, failing to make his presence felt on either offense or defense. Mike Conley was a disappointment in playmaking with three assists and three turnovers. He also became the team's biggest defensive weak link for the opposition to exploit.

Of course, the Timberwolves made Friday's game uncomfortable for the Suns too with their league-leading defense. The Suns committed 18 turnovers, the same as the Timberwolves. Seven of them were by Devin Booker, who faced the same heavy defense as Edwards. Booker went 3-for-12 in FGs to get no more than 13 points, but at least he delivered 13 assists. Grayson Allen and Kevin Durant made the biggest contributions to the Suns' scoring with 45 points in combination. Allen knocked down four triples out of eight attempts. Durant shot 9-for-14 from the field.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Sacramento Kings 100-101 Boston Celtics

The Celtics came one step closer to locking in as regular season leaders by securing their 61st win, after defeating the Kings at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Jaylen Brown sat out this game and Sam Hauser was promoted to the starting lineup. Hauser shot 18 FGs, more than any other teammate, but made only one of them. Jayson Tatum made no more than five of his 15 shots.

Despite their poor offensive performance, the Celtics still began the fourth quarter with a 12-point lead (84-72). De'Aaron Fox led the Kings to launch a desperate rally late in the game. He scored a game-high 40 points, including 20 points in the second quarter and 12 in the fourth. His side trailed by one point with just 7.4 seconds left. Fox received the inbound throw and broke to the free-throw line to shoot a jumper. The ball hit the iron, but Keegan Murray's putback effort failed, and so did Colby Jones' attempt for the offensive rebound.

After Friday's loss, the Kings (No. 8 in the West) now have the same record as the Los Angeles Lakers (No. 9) at 44-33. They have five more games to decide who gets a second chance in the play-in tournament.

Golden State Warriors 106-108 Dallas Mavericks

On Tuesday, the Warriors ended the Mavericks seven-game winning streak at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. Three days later, the Mavericks exacted revenge by shutting down the Warriors' six-game winning streak at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Luka Doncic didn't play on Friday. Kyrie Irving had 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Mavericks. He dropped good numbers, but the best-performing player on the team was P.J. Washington, who shot 12-for-18 from the field to score 32 points in addition to five steals and two blocks. In their final offensive play, he received a pass from Tim Hardaway Jr. and made the game-winning FG under the hoop.

The Warriors had 4.5 seconds to beat the buzzer. Stephen Curry received the ball but faced double-teaming immediately, and was forced to pass it to Chris Paul who then passed to Klay Thompson at the right corner. Thompson managed to take the shot before the game clock ran down, but the ball hit the glass.

Orlando Magic 115-124 Charlotte Hornets

Oklahoma City Thunder 112-126 Indiana Pacers

Portland Trail Blazers 108-102 Washington Wizards

New York Knicks 100-108 Chicago Bulls

Miami Heat 119-104 Houston Rockets

Detroit Pistons 90-108 Memphis Grizzlies

Toronto Raptors 117-111 Milwaukee Bucks

San Antonio Spurs 111-109 New Orleans Pelicans

Utah Jazz 102-131 Los Angeles Clippers