Edwards, Timberwolves defeat Suns to take Game 1

Anthony Edwards rebounded from first-half foul trouble to score a game-high 33 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Phoenix Suns 120-95 on Saturday in Game 1 of a Western Conference first-round playoff series.

With 3:18 left until interval, Edwards was forced to the bench after receiving his third foul.

He quickly made up for lost time, scoring 18 points in the third quarter to help Minnesota turn a close game into a blowout.

Phoenix pulled within 71-67 after a Bradley Beal jumper with 7:03 left in the third, but that was the closest the Suns would get. The Timberwolves went on to score 21 of the frame's final 26 points, with Edwards contributing 14 of them.

Minnesota took a 92-72 lead into the fourth quarter and was never seriously threatened in the final 12 minutes.

"We (needed) to take our game to another level," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "We had to play desperate basketball, with a chip on our shoulder, like we did early in the season when we were trying to establish ourselves."

Edwards made 14 of his 24 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 8 from deep. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 19 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 18, and Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 16 rebounds.

The Timberwolves outshot Phoenix 50 percent to 44 percent overall, bringing them one step closer to their first Western Conference semifinal appearance since 2004.

Kevin Durant had 31 points and seven rebounds for the Suns, who are in the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. Devin Booker scored 18 points, while Beal added 15.

SportsLigue