Timberwolves' defense sliced and diced in loss to Phoenix

Jan. 29—Phoenix's recipe for offensive success was rather simple Friday in Arizona.

Penetrate, kick the ball out, nail an open three.

Rinse, repeat.

The Suns did to Minnesota what most teams apt at moving the ball and knocking down outside shots have done to the Timberwolves' defense this season: shredded it down to nothing.

Golden State, Atlanta, Phoenix, Charlotte. They've all led to the same results, making Minnesota's defense — which has been a strength for the Wolves for much of this season — resemble Minnesota's defense of old. Listless.

Phoenix went 20 for 39 from beyond the arc in its 134-124 win over the Wolves (24-25) as Minnesota dipped back below .500.

"Too many breakdowns at the point of attack. Set us into unnecessary rotations and then sometimes we didn't even make the rotations," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "I thought it was a lot of confusion at the point of attack. Sometimes we switched as we were supposed to, sometimes we didn't switch as we were supposed to. That's going to affect everything you do behind the ball, and we were not very clean at the point of attack. And then we weren't very good reading the rotations and making the right rotations.

"I don't know if it was heavy legs. I don't really think so. I think it was indecision. With the way that they can move the ball, shoot the ball, it was too late."

Yes, Minnesota was playing on the second half of a back to back. Karl-Anthony Towns admitted his team "was tired."

Yes, the Wolves were without D'Angelo Russell (shin bruise) and Patrick Beverley (ankle sprain). But Phoenix (39-9) itself was without four rotation players, including its two top centers. Injuries just cannot be an excuse in a season where, frankly, the Wolves have been healthier than most of their opponents.

Without much for options at the point guard position, Finch leaned heavily on Anthony Edwards to handle those responsibilities. He answered the call, finishing with 27 points and a career-high 10 assists while orchestrating an efficient Wolves offense.

Malik Beasley went off for 26 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter alone — a needed boost for a previously struggling player — as Minnesota stayed with Phoenix to the end. It did that, of course, with offense. Because the job wasn't going to get done defensively.

Devin Booker finished with 29 points. Phoenix, which rattled off its ninth straight victory, had six players score in double figures, and four finish with 18-plus.

"It's on our rotations. Too many open shots. That's like practice shots for them," Edwards said. "Our defense is pretty bad right now."

The Wolves' defensive issue isn't new. Minnesota has experienced major slippage defensively of late. Finch admitted it's gotten "loose." The Wolves have covered up some of that with their offensive excellence this month, but it reared its head the last couple of games. The Wolves are talented enough to beat teams like Portland on offense alone, but that won't get it done against the league's top teams.

Finch chalks up the defensive slippage to a lack of practice time and new guys entering the rotation who need to step up on that end. And as Minnesota plays the league's elite teams, and faces other opponents for third and fourth times, it needs to be able to adjust on the fly and give opponents new looks.

"I think these things are things we're going to have to do to finish out down the stretch," Finch said. "You can't expect to just try to blow a fastball by them every time."