Timberwolves advance to Las Vegas Summer League finals

The summer version of the Timberwolves defeated the Phoenix Suns on Sunday in the Las Vegas Summer League semifinals by a final score of 93-83 and will advance to Monday’s championship game.

That’s right: your Minnesota Timberwolves are in the finals. And not only that, we’ve gotten our wish: the Timberwolves will face-off against the Chicago Bulls — the Tom Thibodeau grudge match.

Once again, the newly-crowned Las Vegas Summer League Most Valuable Player Tyus Jones was more than just the straw that stirs the drink for the Summer Wolves — he was the entire drink, the appetizers, the entree, and the dessert.

The second-year guard dropped 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting, knocking down 11-of-13 free throws in the process. He also dished out six assists and only committed two turnovers in 36 minutes of play.

The Wolves trailed by double digits in the first half and Jones went hard to the floor, requiring his wrist to be taped for the latter stages of the game. Things didn’t look great for Minnesota, but they outscored the Suns by a score of 50-35 in the second half en route to the victory.

Adreian Payne hustled his way to another double-double, notching 18 points (8-17 FG, 0-2 3P, 2-3 FT) and 10 rebounds in just 20 minutes, also committing three turnovers and handing out two assists.

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Scott Suggs (11 points on 4-9 FG, 3-6 3P) and Coty Clarke (10 points on 4-14 FG, 1-5 3P) were the only other two players to reach double-figures, and Toure Murry and Jarrid Famous were the only bench players other than Clarke to see the floor.

Phoenix point guard Tyler Ulis struggled against Jones and Co, making just five of 21 shot attempts from the the field and committing four turnovers. Troy Williams (24 points) and Askia Booker (19) were the only other Suns’ players to score double-figures beyond Ulis’ inefficient 11 points.

The Wolves will now advance to face the Bulls in the championship game on Monday night. Chicago has been led by second-year forward Bobby Portis (15.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game) and first-round selection Denzel Valentine (12.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game).

It’s good to see this Ryan Saunders-coached team flourish after starting a rough 0-3 in summer league play and being blown out by 31 points in game #3. Not only that, Jones has taken the bull by the horns after the Kris Dunn injury, and has led what is largely a rag-tag bunch of European and D-League players to the championship game of the tournament.

As mentioned above, Jones was named the MVP of the league and was the only played from the 24th-seeded Wolves team that has reached the finals to be named to the two, five-person all-tournament teams.

The Bulls are 6-0 in the Las Vegas Summer League while the Timberwolves are just 4-3 — remember, the Wolves were the 24th (and last) seed in the tournament and the Bulls were #2. (The Wolves already defeated the top-seeded Raptors in the quarterfinals.)

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The two squads will square-off at 8:00 p.m. Central Time on Monday night, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.