Sometimes, you have a team’s number and there’s nothing they can do about it.

Enter the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns; with a Wolves eighth straight win against Phoenix on Friday continuing to cement that reality.

Outside of an early first-quarter two-point lead, the Wolves would go on to dominate and make it lopsided for the rest of the game.

Challenged by head coach Chris Finch after Monday’s blowout loss in Indianapolis to increase their physicality, Minnesota did that and more on Friday. They blocked multiple shots from Kevin Durant, forced turnovers, played for contact in the paint, and held Devin Bookers scoreless until the 3:33 mark in the third quarter.

“Our defensive intensity was back,” head coach Chris Finch said afterward. “I thought Jaden was really special on defense tonight.”

McDaniels was mainly responsible for the lack of Booker up and down the floor. Even after getting on the board late in the third, he’d go on to score just 10 points on 4-14 shooting from the field.

“We played our defense the way we want to play it,” Mike Conley added. “It set the table for how we want to play on both ends.”

Mutual physicality hit an early crescendo when Anthony Edwards went up to battle for a 50/50 ball with Kevin Durant. Attempting to intercept an outlet pass like a football-free safety, he took a shot to the face from Durant and hit the deck hard.

Many times with Ant, he’ll spend a little extra time on the floor to catch his breath. Sometimes, he heads back to the locker room before promptly heading back to the bench and checking back in. This time, it was a little more cause to hold your breath. Edwards stayed on the ground through the timeout and spent the rest of the half getting treatment in the locker room. He would rejoin the team at the beginning of the second half.

Contrary to other games against Phoenix, the Anthony Edwards effect did not loom as large. It was a true domination by committee from start to finish.

Julius Randle came out with 10 points in the first four minutes of the game, softening up the inside and finding open shooters and cutters for the rest of the game. Rudy Gobert strung together another vintage performance on both sides of the ball, grabbing five offensive rebounds and locking down the paint.

Not only an eighth straight example of the confidence they exuded when playing Phoenix, Friday also served as a case study of just how much the Timberwolves can control a game when Rudy Gobert is at his best; not only on the defensive end, but how much opens up on the other end of the floor as well.

High Floor, Higher Ceiling

Finch has described his starting center numerous times as a “floor raiser”. In games the Wolves should win, he makes sure they don’t lose.

Has that been the case this whole year? Certainly not. Was it on Friday? Absolutely.

Rudy Gobert controlled the paint from the jump, discarding Phoenix starting center Nick Richards on the block for rebounds, finishing strong around the rim multiple times, and throwing an exclamation mark on top of it with a block of Kevin Durant in the mid-range.

Richards finished the game with three points and four rebounds. Gobert had 17 and 13, respectively.

Gobert’s activity on the glass and emphatic putbacks are just a couple of the many things he brings to the table that help elevate the Wolves when he’s playing at a high level. It brings energy to a team that can sometimes struggle to bring it on a nightly basis, and causes him to be the “floor raiser” he’s been tabbed as so often.

“When Rudy is playing his best ball, that’s when we’re all playing our best ball,” Conley said. “We just need him to continue to be aggressive…he was crashing the glass, trying to get second chance points and making extra plays for us.”

Not all on his shoulders (in fact, far from it), Gobert has been a microcosm of what the Wolves have been this year. Up, down, inconsistent, at times absent, and at times completely dominant. Its led to frustration from fans to not see the reigning Defensive Player of the Year show up every night the way he did last season. Friday let you know he was indeed, still there.

But can this be repeated into the postseason for another run?

“For us, it’s about being consistent with our mindset,” Gobert said. “When we start the game with that level of urgency that we did tonight, that level of focus, and you know, not getting bored…it’s usually a good night.”

Would it go as far as to say that Rudy has to be the tone-setter?

“100 percent,” Finch said afterward, clearly planting the flag.

Emptying the Notebook

• Not only did Jaden McDaniels lock up Devin Booker, but he also blocked a turnaround fadeaway from Kevin Durant, which is essentially an unblockable shot. One of his better games all year, McDaniels added a quiet 16 points to his dominant defensive performance. It felt like a final evolution to the offensive stretch he’s been having over the last couple of months. Going from passive early in the season to more aggressive and effective recently, McDaniels mixed passiveness when needed (when Julius Randle would take control, or Gobert would mop up misses down low) and aggression when called upon. No notes, he was excellent.
• Mike Conley was shot out of a cannon Friday. It may not be the best box score of his career, but he was incredibly active moving off the ball, finding give and gos, sprinting up the floor to receive hit-ahead passes, and even generating his own shot. Slowly but surely, Conley is looking more like last season’s version of himself, as opposed to the pre-all-star break version.
• Physicality is a choice. The Wolves decided to be physical on Friday. They weren’t in either of their games against the Indiana Pacers and in many of the games in which they’ve lost to sub-.500 teams. It’s the most frustrating part about this team, and Conley said as much afterward. It’s fun to watch when they make the decision to be physical and maximize their potential, but it’s just that; a decision.

Up Next

The Wolves will host the Detroit Pistons on Sunday evening before embarking on a five-game road trip. Cade Cunningham is currently listed as day-to-day with a calf contusion and remains to be seen if the potential all-NBA guard and likely Most Improved Player will see the floor.

Tipoff is at 6:00 PM CST.

Game Highlights