PHOENIX – When owner Glen Taylor fired former coach Tom Thibodeau, he cited a number of losses the Timberwolves suffered under Thibodeau that Taylor felt the Wolves should have won. One of those was a loss the Wolves had to the lowly Suns in December.
If interim coach Ryan Saunders is going to remove that interim tag, he has to win against teams like the Suns.
For the second time in as many games, the Wolves did that in a 118-91 victory at Talking Stick Resort Arena that featured an unusual and entertaining third-quarter altercation between Gorgui Dieng and Devin Booker, resulting in ejections for both. The incident provided a kick for the Wolves the rest of the game, but they had been playing with ample energy the rest of the night, something that was missing in their loss here in December.
"As a team we're better when we play with the right emotion," Saunders said. "So we want to make sure to control our emotions in terms of not letting them become negative, but we were playing tougher with things."
Like on the glass, where the Wolves outrebounded the Suns 64-34 — due in part because the Suns were again without center DeAndre Ayton. Because of Ayton's absence, Karl-Anthony Towns feasted in scoring 25 points, grabbing 18 rebounds and dishing out seven assists.
But Towns has put up big numbers and the Wolves have still lost. Where Tuesday was different was in the contributions from the rest of the roster, one that is shorthanded because of injuries to Robert Covington, Tyus Jones and Jeff Teague.
Because of Teague's foot injury, Jerryd Bayless played 28 minutes and finished with a season-high 14 points and seven assists.
Rookie Josh Okogie, who has struggled with his shot at times this season, scored 21 points on 7-for- 11 shooting while providing strong defense on Booker despite having to sit out at times because of foul trouble. He finished with five fouls.
