Timberwolves defeat Suns, 116-104, with Anthony Edwards out

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Mar 17, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — The first game the Timberwolves played without Anthony Edwards for the next week or two might end up being the most important of that bunch.

The Wolves had a chance to put some distance in the standings between them and the Phoenix Suns, who entered the night two games back of them for a guaranteed playoff spot as the No. 6 seed.

The Wolves have had their struggles of late, but they put those aside and got an important 116-104 victory Tuesday at Target Center.

Edwards will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks after an MRI exam revealed right knee inflammation, but the Wolves improved to 7-4 without him on the season and they showed again they have enough offensive firepower to hold down the fort while he recovers.

What it means

Julius Randle could be rounding back into form. He put together his second consecutive strong game after struggling for much of February and March. Without Edwards, much of the offense ran through Randle, who built on his 32-point effort in Sunday’s loss to Oklahoma City with another 32 points Tuesday night.

A player who often benefits from Edwards’ absence is Bones Hyland, who helped the Wolves shake off a bad first quarter with a quick scoring binge (11 points) on his way to 22 for the game. The Wolves’ defense got off to an underwhelming start but picked up the intensity from there. It marked a big step forward for a Wolves team that looked out of sorts over the last two weeks. Their defense held Jalen Green and Devin Booker to a combined 14 for 44.

How it happened

The Wolves’ defensive effort wasn’t there from the tip, as Phoenix began the night 7 for 11 from the field and grabbed an 18-7 lead. Booker had 12 first-quarter points while the Wolves stumbled around offensively, until they got into their bench. Hyland saved the quarter from being a total disaster with 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting in six minutes.

The other thing that saved the Wolves was second-chance points, with 11. The only problem was Phoenix had 11 as well.

Naz Reid, who has been playing through an injured shoulder that he keeps aggravating, picked up another injury in the second quarter. Reid rolled his ankle during one sequence and was in pain during a timeout. He got up and walked to the locker room on his own power. The Wolves then said he was questionable to return because of a right ankle sprain, but he returned in the third.

The Wolves ramped up the defensive intensity in the second quarter and allowed just 24 points while limiting the Suns to 36% shooting. Jaden McDaniels (16 ppoints, seven rebounds) got it going on both ends with nine points and seven rebounds by the break, while Hyland led all Wolves scorers with 15 points in the first half. The Suns converted 10 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points.

The Wolves extended their lead to 92-86 after three quarters as the Wolves again held the Suns to 33% shooting. Booker, who was complaining to the officials earlier in the quarter, went to the foul line six times in the third on his way to 12 points in the quarter. The Wolves were able to extend that lead to double digits through much of the fourth with Randle scoring 11 points. Kyle Anderson finished the game with seven points, six assists and five rebounds.

Key stat

— 1: Starts for Ayo Dosunmu, who got the call in place of Edwards in the starting lineup. Dosunmu finished the night with 19 points as he took ball-handling duties at times. His night helped make up for an 0-for-8, zero-point performance from Donte DiVincenzo, who ripped his jersey in frustration in the second half.