Timberwolves fall apart in final minute and lose to Suns, 114-113

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Nov 22, 2025

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The Timberwolves had the game seemingly wrapped up — ahead by eight with 50 seconds left to play.

But a comedy of errors and missed free throws caused them to lose to the Suns, 114-113.

Collin Gillespie hit the winning shot for Phoenix with 6.4 seconds to play, and Julius Randle missed a potential winning 3 for the Wolves.

With the loss, the Wolves (10-6) remain winless against teams above .500 this season.

Phoenix (10-6) made its last-second push without Devin Booker, who had fouled out (16 points). The Wolves lost despite 41 points from Anthony Edwards, who missed a pair of free throws that could have put the Wolves up three with 12.7 seconds left.

Chaotic finish

The Wolves had led by as many as nine in the fourth before Phoenix came back to take a 102-100 lead. But Booker picked up his sixth foul battling for a rebound with Rudy Gobert and got a technical on his way out of the game.

Donte DiVincenzo hit the free throw and then buried a 3 for a 104-102 Wolves lead. Edwards then hit three free throws after he was fouled taking a shot from deep, and the Wolves got some key hustle plays from Randle to keep multiple offensive possessions alive as they took control late. Brooks missing two free throws with the Wolves up 107-104 also helped their cause.

The Wolves seemed to have the game in hand before allowing Phoenix back in it with multiple turnovers in the backcourt. But on one of those sequences, Brooks committed and offensive foul on Randle and fouled out.

Edwards missed two free throws with 12.7 seconds remaining and the Wolves ahead 113-112 before Gillespie took advantage by hitting a runner in the lane.

Edwards explodes in the third

Edwards drilled a stepback 3 from the right wing with 8:12 to play in the third quarter. He made the shot over frequent nemesis Brooks. As Phoenix called timeout, Edwards turned around and yelled at Brooks as he walked back to the Suns huddle. Facing Brooks seemed to be the fix Edwards needed to get back on track after a tough homestand.

Edwards had 19 points in the third quarter on 7-for-9 shooting. He hit 3 of 4 from 3-point range and got to the rim as well with a couple of nice sequences.

His scoring outburst put the Wolves ahead 82-81 after three. They had been down as many as 18. Edwards also had three rebounds, a steal and a block in the quarter.

Phoenix pulls ahead on the margins

The Wolves trailed by 13 at the half, and you could trace a good portion of that deficit to the 10 second-chance points. The Suns only had four offensive rebounds credited to players, but they had another five team rebounds that were balls that went out of bounds before someone could get a board or a fouls on a rebound.

The Suns also dominated the Wolves in transition in the first half with a 13-0 edge in fast-break points.

In the first half, Phoenix shot 56% as the Wolves defense was a step slow in the half court. They let Gillespie get loose for 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting. They did a good job on Booker in terms of his scoring, but Booker did dish out eight assists in the first half. Edwards and Randle were 9 for 20 in the first half; the rest of the team was 10 for 29. They shot 39%.

McDaniels’ absence short lived

Jaden McDaniels missed just one game because of a left wrist sprain. He was back in the starting lineup for the team’s third NBA Cup game. McDaniels said previously he was motivated to help the Wolves get to the semifinals and finals in Las Vegas.

“When I see the [specialized] court, I’m like, it’s just time to win the money,” McDaniels said Nov. 7. “We ain’t been to Vegas one time. At least come in first, second or third, we get a little bit of money. So, whichever one we come in, I’m cool — we get a little wire transfer.”

McDaniels played with tape on his wrist.