PHOENIX — This basketball town has been waiting for bottles to pop this season. Instead, there is the unmistakable and harsh sound of a huge bubble bursting.
The Suns, built with the championship in mind, are down 3-0 in the first round. The Suns, who assembled a Big Three, a combination necessary to travel deep into the postseason, are shaping up to be a Big Tease.
Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are another bad night of basketball away from being swept away. It’s a disbelief that wasn’t lost on the Game 3 home crowd, which booed continuously in the third quarter Friday and then booed coach Frank Vogel’s job in the fourth.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves — yes, we have to mention them — are nearly out of breath, not only from the effort and energy they’re putting into this series, but from telling all the skeptics as much.
Here are five takeaways from Minnesota’s strong 126-109 Game 3 victory:
1. This was indeed a bad matchup… for Phoenix
The Suns have beaten the Wolves in all three meetings this season, winning them all by double digits, confusing and bewildering the Wolves defense up top and earning an emphatic win on the final day of the season.
A poor matchup for Wolves, was the belief. And a lot fell, understandably.
But once again the regular season tends to fool people. In this series, the Suns are at a size disadvantage against Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and a rim-crushing Anthony Edwards. The Wolves outshot them by an astounding 50-28.
“They’re a bigger, stronger team than us,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “They killed us on the boards.”
Also: The lack of a true point guard is telling, they can’t put up big points on this defense or stop Edwards when it matters.
Other than that, everything is looking up for Phoenix.
The biggest problem in Game 3 was allowing the Wolves to score 126 points, 36 in a one-sided and decisive third quarter and 67 for the second half, which the Suns spent running uphill. With Minnesota’s defense, allowing that many points is deadly.
“They give us matchup problems,” Vogel admitted.
Which means the Suns need to overturn that deficit in time to rally from 0-3 down to save face and a series.
“They say it’s never been done before,” Booker said. “This is exciting.”
2. Wolves look like real title contenders
After leading the West for much of the season, they stumbled late and failed to secure the top spot. Oklahoma City took those honors. The Nuggets are the defending champions and the Celtics claimed the best record.
But after three games in the first round – the last two were emphatically recorded, all three by double figures – perhaps it’s time to elevate the Wolves to that company.
You can start with defense, obviously. The Wolves’ rotations and switches are superior, Gobert owns the paint, and they silence the Suns’ shooting creativity.
“We knew offensively it was going to be something of a challenge for us going into the season,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said, “but we were more advanced defensively. That’s how we would win games.”
Then there’s Edwards, who served as the closer Friday, putting the Wolves on his shoulders when the Suns showed the slightest sign of a comeback, with 18 points in the fourth.
3. Alexander-Walker Continues Early Turmoil
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has had an uneven young career, finding himself on his third team since being drafted in 2019. Until Friday’s third quarter, he was best known as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s cousin.
And then, for several career-best minutes, Alexander-Walker came out — haunting the Suns with killer 3-pointers from the corner that completely changed the game.
He was 0-for-4 from deep in the first half, so the Suns left him wide open in the third … when he then went 4-for-5. A six-point halftime lead grew to 22.
Remember, the Wolves got Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley for D’Angelo Russell. Who is enjoying the first round playoff series more?
4. Edwards owns the show
He shares the court with Durant and Booker and Beal, but not the designation as the most impressive player in this series. It’s Edwards and his alone.
The Suns have no answer for him, no resistance. When doubled up, he makes them pay by finding teammates with his understated passing — he had five assists. When played straight up, he punishes anyone in front of him — he finished with 36 points.
And he brings the size to contribute to the Wolves’ overall height advantage. Edwards was active on the boards with nine rebounds.
Clearly, Edwards is relishing the chance to prove himself, not only on the playoff stage but against one of the all-time greats in Durant. That’s what budding superstars do — they anxiously pounce on more successful players to bolster their own burgeoning fame.
There was no delicious trash talking from Edwards to Durant in Game 3, not like in Game 2 when Edwards let loose after hitting a long shot. Getting the win was enough. And what’s more, the Footprint Center crowd let Durant and his teammates hear it.
Edwards doesn’t accept the torch from Durant – he grabs it.
5. Are teams passing on Durant?
It’s the same question being asked of LeBron James, who is also down 3-0 in the first round.
These two legends, with a combined six championships, are faced with a harsh reality here at the end of their careers. Both are still sharp — LeBron and Durant are likely to be named All-NBA — but they no longer bring the best team to the postseason.
In Durant’s case, he’s about to go six years without winning a title (he missed a year due to injury) after a streak with the Warriors.
It’s a humbling first season for him with both Beal and Booker. And the Suns are pretty much locked into that trio for the foreseeable future. All three are max contract players who will make a total of $150 million in each of the next two seasons. Beal signed through 2026-27, Booker through 2027-28.
And there are no first-round picks between 2025-2030, limiting their assets.
But Durant, who shot 1-for-6 Friday in the third quarter, is the oldest of the three and therefore more seasoned.
As he surveys the West, he sees Minnesota, Denver and Oklahoma City as serious threats, all three teams either in their prime or still pushing in that direction.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for over 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find its file here and follow him to X.
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