Minnesota Timberwolves (19-13) atPhoenix Suns (12-22), December 23, 2017

Tonight’s Matchup

  • The Wolves trail in the all-time series 39-69 and are 16-39 in Phoenix. The Wolves are 1-2 in the three previous meetings this season. The Nov. 11 defeat ended the Wolves' four-game winning streak vs. Phoenix, while the Dec. 16 loss snapped a five-game home winning streak.

Wolves Notes

  • The Wolves are fourth in the Western Conference, two games ahead of Oklahoma City. The Wolves are 16-6 against the West this season, including 7-5 on the road.
  • Jimmy Butler has tallied 16 20+ point performances this season, including eight in the last 10 games. During that stretch he is averaging 25.7 points on 49.7 shooting. He ranks eighth in the NBA in steals (1.87 spg).
  • Karl-Anthony Towns has recorded a double-double in a league-high 25 games this season (139 career). Wednesday’s win at Denver marked his 17th 20+ point effort of the season.Towns is 21st in the NBA in scoring (20.7 ppg), fifth in rebounding (11.6 rpg), 15th in blocks (1.34 bpg) and 18th in FG accuracy (52.6%).
  • Jamal Crawford recorded his second-consecutive 20-point outing on Wednesday, finishing with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting while matching a season-high with four three-pointers. He also surpassed Tracy McGrady (18,381)for 64th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
  • Taj Gibson scored 12 points Wednesday, his 21st double-digit scoring effort of the season. He has posted 12 double-doubles this season after recording 11 in 2016-17. Gibson ranks 10th in the NBA in field goal percentage at a career-best 54.6%. He also ranks 24th in rebounding with 8.2 rpg.
  • Gorgui Dieng needs one block to pass Rasho Nesterovic (373) for sole possession of second place on the Wolves’ all-time blocked shots list.
  • Over the past five games, the Wolves have committed 60 fewer turnovers than their opponents (46 vs. 106) – the NBA's largest such advantage in the past two decades. Minnesota is third in the league for opponent turnovers per game (16.19) and first inopponent steals per game (6.59).

Suns Notes

  • Phoenix is 13th in the Western Conference, half-a-game behind Sacramento. The Suns are 39-16 at home all-time against the Wolves.
  • Devin Booker is 13th in the league in scoring with 24.3 ppg, but has been inactive the last eight games due to injury.
  • T.J. Warren ranks 30th in the NBA in scoring with 18.9 points per game. Over the last five games he is averaging 20.0 points on 42.0% shooting.
  • The Suns rank 4th in rebounds per game, grabbing 45.74 rpg. Phoenix is also 4th in offensive rebounds per game averaging 10.65 second-chance opportunities.

Wolves LeadersSuns Leaders

Karl-Anthony Towns20.7 ppgDevin Booker24.3 ppg

Karl-Anthony Towns11.6 rpgAlex Len 9.4 rpg

Jeff Teague 7.1 apgDevin Booker 4.1 apg