Mar. 20, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Phoenix Suns interim head coach Lindsey Hunter (right) with guard Goran Dragic.
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

This was a fun one. We need these, every now and again. I suspect we’ll have a few more tilts like this in the near future, with an easy schedule and (hopefully) a steady trickle of healthy bodies. Of course, the Phoenix Suns are in a pretty sorry state, especially playing without a couple of their best players in Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley. But we’ll take it. And so will Coach Rick Adelman.

There was not much more to this game besides the fact that the Suns simply are not a good basketball team. They took bad, contested shots, missed open shots, and threw the ball out of bounds with reckless abandon. It almost looked like last year’s version of the Timberwolves. There were even a couple of guys that looked a lot like Wes Johnson and Michael Beasley that took part in the festivities as a part of the rag-tag home team. Lucky us, poor them.

The Wolves’ offense was solid early, with good movement and activity and solid passing in the open floor. It was almost as we had all envisioned it, at least for those brief moments when Ricky Rubio, Andrei Kirilenko, Nikola Pekovic, and a recovering Chase Budinger shared the court at the same time. It is easy to see how potent and versatile this team could/would/should be with a relatively healthy roster.

The Wolves held a 31-18 lead headed into the second quarter after outplaying the Suns in every facet of the first frame. Budinger hit a three-pointer, snagged a defensive rebound, and hit a two-point baseline jumper off the dribble in rapid succession to put the Wolves up 36-18 shortly after the second period began. Adelman called Budinger’s number out of a timeout in his favorite set, getting Chase an open jumper curling around a screen at the elbow, and Budinger was 3 for 3 to start the quarter, putting the visitors up by 20 points.

The Suns only got sloppier, throwing the ball around carelessly and allowing the Wolves to have their way offensively. Minnesota benefited from some easy Suns’ misses as they expanded their lead, eventually scoring a season-high in first half points in taking a 67-39 lead into the break.

The third quarter saw the Suns chip away a little bit as they eventually started making open shots. The Wolves’ defensive intensity waned while their offense remained sharp, and the Wolves retained the majority of their lead as they finished the frame with a 95-69 lead.

The fourth quarter was a charade, as both teams cycled through their short benches and played out the string with minimal intensity. The Wolves built upon their already healthy advantage, eventually coasting to a 117-86 victory in the desert.

Some quick thoughts….

- I enjoyed listening to the Phoenix Suns’ announcers this evening (I think  it was Steve Albert and Eddie Johnson, although it is harder to find online than it should be…). They had a few interesting quips, including a discussion about being willing to confront Mike Tyson if Pekovic was one’s bodyguard. Obviously, this would be a no-brainer, but Pek is nobody’s bodyguard. The play-by-play announcer also had this gem in the third quarter: “Even when called for traveling, [Rubio] does it charismatically.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

- Kirilenko started the game with a flurry of points and eventually ended up with a team-high 20 points on 6 of 10 shooting and 8 of 10 from the free throw line.

- Rubio had a solid game, scoring 12 points on 3 of 7 from the field and 6 of 7 from the charity stripe, adding 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals with 4 turnovers in 29 minutes. Just think what he’ll do when fully healthy, with Kevin Love, and playing 35-38 minutes per game consistently. I know I bring this up a lot, but….scary stuff.

- Budinger was more than solid in his second night of monitored playing time, shooting 4 of 9 in 16 minutes of court time. He was aggressive at a couple of points going to the rim, and his stroke was confident and true, for the most part.

- The Wolves shot 31-40 from the free throw line. That’s a lot of shots. And for the Wolves, I’ll take that percentage.

- Pekovic saw his old foul trouble problems sneak on him, drawing five personal fouls in just 14 minutes of play. Of course, the game was not close, so it didn’t matter in the least. He did play very well in his limited time, rim-running right through the Suns’ defense for 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting.

- Minnesota will host the Chicago Bulls at Target Center at 6:00 CST on Sunday evening.

Feb. 24, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic (1) talks with NBA official Pat Fraher about a call in the second half while playing the San Antonio Spurs at US Airways Center. The Spurs defeated the Suns 97-87. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

Man. It does not get much uglier than what just occurred. Honestly. And I’m not just talking about the Timberwolves. This one was rough all the way around, and both Phoenix and Minnesota are to blame. I usually make fun of college basketball, but after the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ upset over the #1 -ranked Indiana Hoosiers….well, that game was infinitely more watchable than this debacle. Just terrible basketball all the way around.

The Wolves turned the ball over four times in the opening three minutes, but they managed to hold an 11-10 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the quarter. Nikola Pekovic struggled with Marcin Gortat’s length down low, but held his own on the defensive end. When unable to get the ball to Gortat in the post, the Suns tend to panic and their offense becomes non-existent. As soon as Pekovic asserted himself physically against Gortat, the Phoenix offense ground to a halt.

Of course, the Wolves refused to put anything together offensively themselves, and ended the second quarter trailing by the score of 16-15. The Suns’ bench went on a 9-0 run and opened up a 24-15 lead while the Wolves started the second quarter 0 for 7 from the field. To make matters worse, the Wolves struggled mightily in creating offense without Rubio on the court, and Andrei Kirilenko left the game with a left calf strain, taking with him the rest of the Wolves’ play-making ability.

Midway through the second quarter, the Wolves were shooting 2 of 14 from the field for the frame and 28% for the game. Derrick Williams continued to play with impressive energy on both ends of the court, but also refused to convert from the free throw line, finishing 3 of 10 from the charity stripe for the game. The Wolves trailed by as many as 18 points in the second period, but managed to whittle the deficit down to 45-33 by the break.

The third quarter was as equally unwatchable as the first half of the tilt, as neither team seemed to be able to comprehend how to run an offense, much less convert the few open shots that they managed to take. The Wolves actually pulled within 55-51 with just under two minutes remaining in the frame, but a terrible possession led to an open three-point shot that was converted by the Suns, and the quarter ended with a 58-51 lead for the home team.

For as bad as the Wolves’ offense was all game long, the Suns only managed to score 11 points in the third quarter, and the Wolves  found themselves within 7 points at 58-51. Not long into the fourth quarter, the Wolves switched into a zone defense and confused the putrid Suns’ offense even further. With the scoring pace slowed even further, the Wolves managed to slowly close the gap to 75-73 with just under two minutes remaining.

Per usual, Dante Cunningham played fantastic defense down the stretch and forced a turnover before running straight to the rim and converting a three-point play via a J.J. Barea pass in transition, giving the Wolves a 76-75 lead with a minute and a half remaining. After a Suns’ turnover, Barea got an offensive rebound with 25.5 seconds remaining. After a Wolves’ timeout, Rubio was fouled before converting just one of two free throws at the line. My question: why didn’t Barea just hold the ball and allow himself to be fouled? Why did he call timeout, leading to Rubio shooting free throws instead of himself? A clear mistake, in my opinion.

The Suns ran an impressive pick-and-roll with an added wrinkle while down two with under thirty seconds left in regulation. Dragic dribbled left around a Gortat screen, and while Gortat rolled, Luis Scola set a back-screen on the Wolves’ defense that was trying to catch up with the Suns’ center heading to the hoop. Gortat converted on a runner, and the Suns’ knotted the game up with 13.6 seconds remaining. Rubio air-balled a long jumper at the end of regulation, and with no mercy for the spectators, the game headed into an extra session.

The Suns jumped out to a lead in overtime, eventually taking an 84-80 lead with 45 seconds left in overtime. After Alexey Shved bricked a baseline floater that got stuck between the rim and the backboard, Pekovic and Gortat competed for a jump ball at center court. Pekovic won, and Williams canned a three-pointer from the right wing to bring the Wolves to within a point with 30 seconds remaining.

The Suns’ Wes Johnson finally looked exactly like the good ol’ Wes that Wolves’ fans remember and threw up a wild baseline shot that was blocked by Pekovic. After a 20-second timeout, Shved dribbled right and got around Johnson before missing a point-blank layup, leading to a Suns’ rebound and an intentionally missed free throw to end the game.

Some thoughts….

- So ugly. One of the worst games I have ever seen, making me long for college basketball. And that is not normal.

- The Suns won this game while committing 20 turnovers. The Wolves turned the ball over 16 times while shooting just 34.4% from the field, compared to the Suns’ 40.7%.

- Wes Johnson may have scored 14 points and pulled down 9 rebounds, but he shot 6 of 16 from the field and had a few boneheaded attempts in the fourth quarter and overtime. As a Wolves fan, I don’t miss him.

- Rubio played as bad as he has since before the All-Star break, shooting 2 of 12 from the field and finishing with a line of 5 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 6 turnovers in 39 minutes before being benched midway through overtime, possibly due to a high number of minutes, but more likely due to his poor play.

- The Wolves will be in Los Angeles to take on the Lakers on Thursday night. Tip-off is at 9:30 CST on TNT.