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What Doomed Phoenix Suns in Game 1 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, Per Bradley Beal

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics
By Angelo Guinhawa | Last updated 4/21/24

The Phoenix Suns didn’t look like contenders in their recent playoff game against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. This led All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal to speak out on the main reason why his team lost Game 1 of their series in the first round.

In the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, the Timberwolves got the 120-95 win over the Kevin Durant-led Suns. Anthony Edwards impressed everyone when he made 58 percent of his field goals to notch 33 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. All-Star center Rudy Gobert tallied 14 points and 16 rebounds, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points and seven boards.

The Suns, on the other hand, had Kevin Durant lead the way with his 31 points and seven rebounds. Bradley Beal contributed 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Meanwhile, Devin Booker only shot 31 percent from the field, resulting only to 18 points in 37 minutes.

As noted by Booker, the Timberwolves’ defense locked up on him, which led to an inefficient shooting night for the All-Star. The win, however, took Minnesota one step closer to advancing to the next round of this year’s playoffs.

Bradley Beal Shares Reason Why Phoenix Suns Lost to Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1

After the game, Beal spoke to reporters about how the game went for him and the Suns. In a pair of videos posted by Duane Rankin on X:

“They came out the aggressors. They came out like they wanted it a little bit more than we did and they executed their game plan well.”

Bradley Beal after Suns Game 1 loss to T-Wolves.

“I’m sure they’ll make their adjustments, but we’ll for sure make ours.” #Suns #NBAPlayoffs. pic.twitter.com/aIQBWgTnZY

— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) April 21, 2024

“They did a really good job of switching between zone and going man and we were confused at times. We have to be better. Just make sure we’re more locked in.”

Bradley Beal as Suns look to find balance between hunting matchups and moving the ball vs. T-Wolves. #Suns #NBAPlayoffs. pic.twitter.com/Pb0dEjrQqP

— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) April 21, 2024

Even though the Suns boast a more offensive-oriented lineup, Minnesota has key players that can put up the defensive pressure on Phoenix. As it stands, Gobert has no competition when it comes to protecting to rim and grabbing the boards.

If the Suns hope to put up a good fight, they would need to start acting aggressively against the Timberwolves. Whether they rise up or not will be known in the coming days.

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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