The Minnesota Timberwolves lost an eight-point lead in the final 50 seconds Friday night in Phoenix during a 114-113 NBA Cup loss to the upstart Suns.
They lost something else over the final minute and a half, too, according to Wolves head coach Chris Finch.
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“We lost our minds,” Finch said, according to The Associated Press. “Poor execution, turnovers, obviously, and just didnâ€t stay locked in during the last 90 seconds.”
Minnesota gave the ball away three times in the span of 26.6 seconds down the stretch, and Suns point guard Collin Gillespie dropped in the game-winner jumper while defended by his former Villanova teammate, Donte DiVincenzo, clinching the 10-6 Suns’ seventh win in their past eight games. The stunning, last-minute turnaround spoiled a 41-point outing from Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
Phoenix carried the highest payroll in league history last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20. This season, without Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, the Suns are a pleasant surprise under the direction of new head coach Jordan Ott.
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Ott put the ball in Gillespie’s hands when it mattered most. By that point, four-time All-Star guard Devin Booker had fouled out. So had the team’s second-leading scorer, Dillon Brooks, who was called for an offensive foul with 18 seconds left after pairing an assist with a key steal earlier in the come-from-behind sequence.
After Edwards missed two free throws, and forward Ryan Dunn collected a critical Suns rebound, Ott took a timeout down one with 11.5 seconds to go.
Gillespie checked in and received the subsequent inbound pass. He hesitated for a moment before flipping on the accelerator and driving right. Gillespie was picked up by a switching DiVincenzo, but Gillespie had the inside track to the cup. As DiVincenzo scurried to catch up and contest, Gillespie gathered and elevated for a short jumper that gave the Suns a one-point lead with 6.4 seconds left.
Before the buzzer, Julius Randle, who had back-to-back turnovers moments earlier, was off the mark on a 3-pointer and Phoenix celebrated a triumph over last year’s Western Conference runner-ups.
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Friday was the latest notch on Gillespie’s NBA belt as his breakout season continues. The third-year guard poured in 20 points off the bench. He also finished with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
He’s averaging 11.1 points and 25 minutes per game, both career highs after playing in a combined 57 games the past two seasons and going undrafted in 2022.
The Suns also got 13 points off the bench from Jordan Goodwin. He went undrafted out of St. Louis the year before Gillespie. They both seized the spotlight against the Wolves, as Goodwin erased more than half of the Suns’ eight-point deficit in the final minute of play.
“Weâ€re just super competitive, winners and want to play winning basketball,†Gillespie said. “I think you saw a little of that at the end of the game. Just no quit. Fight until thereâ€s no time left.â€
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