Julius Randle scored 32 points on 10-for-17 shooting and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 116-104 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
Bones Hyland added 22 points off the bench for Minnesota, which bounced back from a 13-point road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in its previous game. Ayo Dosunmu finished with 19 points, and Jaden McDaniels contributed 16.
Devin Booker scored 34 points in 35 minutes to lead Phoenix, which dropped its third game in a row. Oso Ighodaro tallied 16 points and Collin Gillespie scored 12 despite missing nine of his 13 shots from the field.
The Timberwolves outscored the Suns 52-41 in the second half to seal the victory. Phoenix struggled with its shooting down the stretch while playing for the second time in as many nights.
Minnesota started the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run to seize a 15-point lead. Dosunmu made a driving layup to start the surge, which included seven points by Randle and a layup by Kyle Anderson.
Phoenix narrowed the gap to nine points with 1:47 left on a basket from Jordan Goodwin but never got closer.
Minnesota led 92-86 at the end of the third quarter.
The Suns grabbed a 76-75 advantage after Booker made a running layup with 5:02 to go in the third quarter. The Timberwolves responded by scoring 17 of the final 27 points of the period to turn a one-point deficit into a six-point lead.
The Timberwolves played without top scorer Anthony Edwards, who was ruled out because of a right knee injury. The team announced before the game that Edwards would be re-evaluated in one to two weeks after an MRI showed inflammation in his knee.
Minnesota’s injury woes continued when Naz Reid left in the first half against the Suns because of a sprained right ankle. Reid writhed in pain on the court and headed to the locker room, but he returned to the bench after halftime and re-entered the game in the third quarter.
