9:00 p.m., Talking Stick Resort Arena
Where to Watch: Fox Sports North
Where to Listen: 830 WCCO
The Timberwolves are back in action on the West Coast on Monday night as they take on the 17-49 Phoenix Suns.
Coming off arguably their best and most dramatic win of the season over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, Minnesota will look to make it two-in-a-row on the road later tonight.
Before tuning into this Western Conference showdown later this evening, be sure to keep these fun facts in mind:
Coming Off Of…
The Wolves head into Phoenix with a lot of momentum and their heads held sky high after defeating the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Friday, 99-96. Thanks to a clutch 3-pointer by Rubio with 0.2 seconds left in the ball game, Minnesota walked away with their 10th road win of the season. The young Spaniard also dished out 12 assists and snatched eight rebounds, while Gorgui Dieng had a great game with 25 points and nine boards.
The Suns played the Golden State Warriors on Saturday and gave the 59-6 Steph Curry-led ‘Dubs’ a run for their money. Leading going into the fourth quarter, the combination of Curry and Marreese Speights was too much for the young Suns. Alex Len had a big game for Phoenix, putting up 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Brandon Knight contributed heavily with 30 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Last Matchup:
These two Western Conference foes last played against one another on Sunday, Jan. 17 inside the Target Center. The series is tied at one-apiece this season, but Minnesota got the best of Phoenix in its most recent matchup, 117-87. It was an all-around team effort for the Wolves as seven players scored in double-digits and no player had more than 18 points. Minnesota shot 56.5 percent from the field and made seven threes in the afternoon ball game. The Suns struggled putting the ball in the hoop, only making 43.2 percent of their shots.
The Suns were without Len, which didn’t help. Nobody really played great for the Suns. Knight scored 20 points, Markieff Morris put in 17 points and grabbed five rebounds, but Phoenix overall just had an off game, shooting 20 percent from 3-point range and only making 56.5 percent of their free-throw attempts.
Key Matchup: Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Alex Len
In a battle of young big-men, these two 7-footers will go at it in the paint on Monday night. Len, who is coming off of a left hand injury, is averaging 18.8 points and 13.4 rebounds in his last five games.
Towns has continued to play well as of late and is scoring 22.6 points, grabbing 9.6 rebounds and blocking 1.8 shots per game in his last five contests. The biggest difference between the two, however, is their shooting percentage in their last five games. Len is making 40.3 percent of his shots from the field while Towns is making a very impressive 63.4 percent of his field-goal attempts.
Injuries:
Suns: T.J. Warren (ankle) and Eric Bledsoe (knee) are out.
Wolves: Nikola Pekovic (foot) and Kevin Garnett (knee) are out.
Projected Starters:
Suns: PG- Knight, SG- Booker, SF- Tucker, PF- Len, C- Chandler
Wolves: PG- Rubio, SG- LaVine, SF- Wiggins, PF- Dieng, C- Towns
