Grant Hill poured in 23 points and grabbed 10
rebounds, as the Phoenix Suns hung on to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves,
120-112, at US Airways Center.
Channing Frye added 25 points and five rebounds for the Suns, who are off to a
3-0 start to the season. Jason Richardson ended with 23 points, while Steve
Nash chipped in 14 points and 14 assists. Amare Stoudemire finished with 19
points and eight boards.
Richardson returned from a two-game suspension, handed to him for pleading
guilty to driving under the influence.
"I was working hard the two games I was out, coming before practice and
getting a lot of workout with my trainer," said Richardson. "It was trying to
just get my game experience in."
Ryan Gomes hit 10-of-13 shots from the field, on his way to 23 points and 15
rebounds for the Timberwolves, who were coming off a loss to the Cavaliers on
Friday. Al Jefferson added 21 points and eight rebounds. Corey Brewer had 19
points and seven rebounds. Jonny Flynn ended with 11 points in defeat.
After a Gomes foul shot cut the gap to 86-81 with 3:36 to go in the third, the
Suns drilled three straight three-pointers. Frye made the first two and Nash
connected on the third to make it 95-81 with about 1 1/2 minutes remaining.
Phoenix held a 96-85 lead heading to the fourth.
Down by 14 with under seven minutes to play in the fourth, Minnesota went on
an 11-2 run to cut the gap to 110-105. Gomes and Brewer highlighted the spurt
that Ryan Hollins finished with a jumper with 3:13 to go.
Hill responded with a three-pointer and a layup to essentially secure the
victory for the Suns.
"They just hit shots, that's what they do," said Jefferson. "Hill hit a nice
three in the corner and that was the difference."
After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Suns held a 35-34 edge. The second
period was a close battle until Phoenix ripped off the final seven points of
the frame to take a 67-61 lead at the half.
The Suns continued where they left off at the end of the first half, going on
a small 6-2 spurt to begin the third. Richardson's turnaround jumper gave the
Suns a 73-63 lead.
The Timberwolves got within four with about 6 1/2 minutes to go in the third,
but Phoenix responded with seven consecutive points to extend its lead to
86-75.
Game Notes
The Suns shot 50 percent from the field, while the Timberwolves made 46.4
percent of their shots...The Suns went 24-of-30 from the foul line, while
Minnesota hit 17-of-23 shots from the charity stripe...Phoenix won two of
three meetings with Minnesota a year ago and is 13-5 in the previous 18
encounters against the 'Wolves. Minnesota has dropped seven of nine trips to
the Valley of the Sun...Minnesota plays at the Clippers on Monday, while
Phoenix travels to Miami on Tuesday.
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