NBA highlights on April 28: Young T-Wolves sweep Suns and their Big 3

The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Phoenix Suns 122-116 in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference's first-round playoffs at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, sweeping the opponents to advance to the Western semifinals.

This was only the second time the Timberwolves have progressed through the first round of the postseason since they joined the NBA in 1989. The last time they did it was in 2004, when their greatest player in franchise history, Kevin Garnett, won the regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP). He had the team's most seven-game 30+points-scoring game in the playoffs, up until April 26 this year, when it was matched by Anthony Edwards in Game 3.

Edwards now has that record for himself after dropping 40 points. He shot 13-for-23 from the field, knocked down seven triples, made seven of his 10 free throws and even grabbed team-high five offensive rebounds. He missed only one of his even field goals (FGs) in the fourth quarter to contribute 16 points, leading his side to outscore the opponents 32-24.

Karl-Anthony Towns was the other solid source of firepower for the Timberwolves in Sunday's game. He went 11-for-17 in FGs and drained four shots outside the 3-point line to score 28 points and 10 rebounds. He had 10 and 11 points in the second and the third periods, allowing the team to withstand the opponents' fierce attacks until Edwards stepped up to take over in the final quarter.

The Suns tried to survive the desperate 3-0 deficit by speeding up from the beginning of Sunday's game. This policy was in Devin Booker's favor and Kevin Durant's, enabling the two to launch attacks quickly without having faced the Timberwolves' League-top defense. Booker made 13 of his 21 FGs plus 20 of his 21 free throws to get 49 points. Durant shot 12-for-17 from the field to add 33 points. He even had four blocks.

However, Booker and Durant were the only two on the Suns' roster to score double-digit points on Sunday night. As the third member of the team's "Big Three," Bradley Beal was a complete disaster who was fouled out in the fourth period with nine points, two assists and six turnovers. Five of his turnovers happened in the decisive final quarter, not to mention that he was a defensive deadweight for any Timberwolf to exploit.

Having played four seasons since leaving the Golden State Warriors in summer 2019 – he spent the whole 2019-20 campaign recovering from injury – Durant hasn't made the conference finals even once, despite having teammates like Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Booker. His team were swept twice in the first round – the Brooklyn Nets by the Boston Celtics in the East in 2022 and this time the Suns by the Timberwolves in the West.

According to basketball-reference.com, the Suns' total salaries for the 2024-25 season will be over $190 million, $150 million of which will go to Booker, Durant and Beal. The shortest one of their contracts is Durant's which won't expire until the 2025-26 campaign. Beal has a $57.1 million player option for the 2026-27 season when he turns 33. Booker's deal includes no option and will last to the 2027-28 season when he makes $61.6 million.

After trading heavily for Durant and Beal in the past year, the Suns can't put any of their first-round draft picks before 2031 in any deal. Meanwhile, they have no second-rounder of their own until 2030. In other words, though the trio of Durant, Booker and Beal was a huge disappointment this season, they will be stuck with them for a long time.

The Timberwolves will face the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets series in the Western semifinals.

Other games on Sunday (away teams come first):

New York Knicks 97-92 Philadelphia 76ers

Jalen Brunson took one step closer to being remembered as one of the greatest players in the Knicks' history after shooting 18-for-34 from the field to drop postseason career-high 47 points and 10 assists against the 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoffs.

This victory granted the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the series and an opportunity to wrap it up at home in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

The Knicks gave full play to their advantages in energy and athleticism on Sunday night, leading 11-5 in blocks and 15-9 in offensive rebounds. OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Precious Achiuwa had three, three and four blocks respectively and contributed two, five and four offensive rebounds respectively.

The 76ers' star duo, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, combined to get 50 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists, but both were contained by the Knicks tough defense in the final period. Maxey made only two of his eight attempts in that quarter; Embiid shot 0-for-5 from the field.

Los Angeles Clippers 116-111 Dallas Mavericks

The Clippers ruled their ace Kawhi Leonard out against the Mavericks on Sunday, partly due to his injury, and partly because his poor form was hurting the team. Fortunately for the team, Paul George and Harden stepped up and combined to score 66 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists, leading the Clippers to victory at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, and tying the West's first-round playoffs at 2-2.

George got 16 points in the first period, followed by Harden 13 in the second quarter. Their efforts enabled the Clippers to lead by 31 points at most (55-24) in the first half of the game. Though Kyrie Irving responded 40 points in addition to a triple-double of 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists by Luka Doncic, the Mavericks failed to come back at home in the end.

Game 5 of the series will happen at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Wednesday.

Milwaukee Bucks 113-126 Indiana Pacers

The Pacers rained a postseason franchise-history-high of 22 triples in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoffs against the Bucks to win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday. Having secured three straight wins after losing Game 1, the Pacers are one win away from upsetting the East's No. 3 seed.

Six players on the Pacers' roster scored double-digits. Tyrese Haliburton delivered no more than five assists, but drained five 3-pointers out of 12 attempts. Andrew Nembhard and Paskal Siakam did good work distributing the ball with 16 assists in combination. T.J. McConnell also contributed eight assists off the bench.

The Bucks lacked both their ace pair, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, in Sunday's game. Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Malik Beasley combined to get 82 points, but their teammates failed to provide much help.

Game 5 of the series will take place at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.