Julius Randle scored 32 points and Bones Hyland had 22 points off the bench to help the Minnesota Timberwolves offset the absence of All-Star Anthony Edwards and beat the Phoenix Suns 116-104 on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Ayo Dosunmu added 19 points and Rudy Gobert had 19 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who are 7-4 without Edwards this season. The NBA ‘s third-leading scorer will miss the next week or two with knee inflammation.<\/p>\n
Devin Booker scored 34 points despite shooting 1 for 7 from 3-point range for the Suns, who finished a five-game road trip with their third straight loss. <\/p>\n
After losing 120-112 in Boston the night before, the Suns played without three of their top five scorers as Grayson Allen (knee soreness) joined the previously sidelined Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams. <\/p>\n
The Timberwolves (42-27), who entered the evening tied with Denver for fifth place in the Western Conference, used a 16-2 run that started late in the third quarter to take control as Randle posted his second straight 32-point game.<\/p>\n
The seventh-place Suns (39-30) were within one game of the Timberwolves just five days ago, trying to move above the cut for avoiding the play-in tournament. Phoenix still won the season series with Minnesota 2-1.<\/p>\n
Hyland, the fifth-year guard who has carved out a valuable niche in the rotation, had a big hand in the rally from a lethargic start that had the Timberwolves trailing by 11 points less than five minutes into the game. <\/p>\n
Hyland hit a fadeaway 3-pointer from the wing with 0.2 seconds left in the first quarter to cut the deficit to 39-36. After Jaden McDaniels swiped the ball from Royce O’Neale in the backcourt to start a fast break, Hyland finished it with a layup to tie the game at 59.<\/p>\n
Up next<\/p>\n
Suns play at San Antonio on Thursday. <\/p>\n
Timberwolves host Utah on Wednesday.<\/p>\n